And the Winner Is continuation 1
by txvamplover
Summary: Sookie made her choice from her supernatural suitors in "And the Winner Is" -this is a continuation of the story. Please keep reading their adventure.
1. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

We stayed until the bar was closed and stayed sitting in the booth talking. I was so happy this is as close to normal as I have ever felt. The man I love sitting next to me, ok so technically he is dead, but he is mine. For the sake of this conversation his oldest friend and my brother and my two oldest friends sitting in a bar having a conversation and sharing our life stories. I didn't think I would ever have anything like this. I was so happy and I know Eric was feeling my contentment as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in for a little hug. My brother just looked at me and smiled. I don't think that I had ever heard Eric or Pam sound so normal. Eric has told me numerous times this week how he would do anything to make me happy and he was certainly doing a good job at it right now. The last of the staff was ready to go and Eric and I said our good-bye's to everyone and climbed into the Corvette. I was on cloud nine; I couldn't have been any more happy! I must have really been projecting this because as I looked over at Eric in the glow of the dash lights he was actually smiling. I just stared at him in disbelief. He realized I was staring at him and caught himself smiling and if I didn't know better I think he may have blushed a little. "Sookie, I don't know if I have ever felt this much, ah, hmmm," "Joy, happiness, contentment," I butted in. "Yes, Lover, I don't know if I ever felt like this in my human life. I know what I am feeling is coming from our bond but I don't ever want you to loose this feeling. _I don't want to loose this feeling._ Sookie, my life as a Viking Warrior was filled with anger, rage, and many other things I won't go into, the feeling I am feeling now, I never felt this _alive_ before my life was taken. I just stared at him. I didn't know what to say. We had had a great night and now he was sharing something so intimate – the was more intimate then anything we could have shared. I just looked at him with an endearing smile and tears rolling down my face. Was this too good to be true.

Eric and I lived the next few days as normal as I can assume a vampire can live. We made love in every part of the house, we made love in the whirlpool attached to the pool in the backyard, we made love at Fangtasia we were like newly weds. Eric fed from me but was careful not to overfeed. He sat with me when I ate. Bill never liked the fact that I had the basic human needs such as food and the need to use facilities. My basic human needs I did on my own time most of the time when we were together. But here I was with Eric and he wanted to be with me and the fact that I was human gave us little problem. For now. I knew it would eventually interfere with our relationship, but I kept that at the back of my mind.

It was the night before our trip to Florida. I was both excited and terrified. Eric decided we would not work that night we needed to get prepared for our trip. I awoke a little after noon. I found myself sleeping later and later into the day, sometimes until early afternoon. But I was living a different lifestyle now. Most nights I would fall asleep before Eric. He would spend the time without me doing, I am not sure what, but he deserved his alone time too. I spent my time alone much as I had done before moving here, watching movies, reading and now I had started working out in the home gym Eric had set up in one of the upstairs bedrooms. I have always been in good shape but I could really feel my workouts starting to pay off even in just a week. Between the workouts in the gym and the workouts Eric gave me I was really toning my body mass. I went downstairs to get a cup of coffee and found a note on the door of the fridge. _Lover, I want our last night before our trip to be special, you are always beautiful, but dress special. I want to take you out tonight. Love E. _Oh, I was so excited. An actual date where my vampire and I could go out and show each other off. The last week has been so perfect I hadn't really stopped to think that I hadn't done much but go from here to Fangtasia and back. I had talked to both Amelia and Tara on the phone. It was still early so I grabbed my romance novel, I mean this literally, I was on the front. I hadn't had a chance to read it when I checked it out at the library so I bought a copy of it off the Internet and had it shipped to me. I enjoyed the sunshine of the early spring out by the pool reading part of the day. Then I went in to make a snack and the doorbell rang. I hadn't had that happen since I had moved here. I was a little apprehensive. I couldn't see out the peep hole it was way too high, Eric and I would need to discuss this, I opened the door hesitantly and then flung it open. I threw my arms around Claudine I hadn't seen her in a while. She hugged me back. "Sookie, I had to ask Amelia where you were. Why didn't you tell me what was going on?" "Claudine, I am so sorry! I have been so wrapped up in my own life I just didn't think to call you or grandfather to let you know I had moved." Claudine was my cousin even though she is a fairy and Niall is our grandfather, a fairy prince. Eric had helped me learn this about myself. Niall had sent Claudine to watch over me and be my for real fairy godmother when he was finally able to reach out to me.  
"So its true? You are with the Viking? You are working at a fang banger bar?" She was not being judgmental just inquisitive.  
"Yes, Yes and not yet" I smiled.  
"Amelia told me you are about to take a trip. Sookie, when are you going to learn to stay away from the vampire dealings?" now she had concern on her face.  
"I will be fine. Eric will be with me."  
"Hasn't he always been with you? You still seem to end up in grave danger that I can't get you out of without getting myself killed."  
"Well, yes, he has, but it's different this time. I will be fine!" She changed the subject and we had a nice visit and a glass of iced tea and some popcorn and she left after a couple of hours. She filled me in on her twin brother Claude, the one I posed with on the front of the romance novel. She said she would let grandfather know what was going on although she didn't think he would be happy about it. We said our good-byes and big hugs I promised to call her when I got back from Florida.


	2. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

It was getting later in the day and it would be night fall in a couple of hours and I decided I better start getting ready. I went up and took a hot shower, fixed my hair in a curly updo ponytail and put on a little makeup. Now, what to wear? Since Eric didn't say where we were going and I couldn't exactly ask him, I had to pick an outfit that would do for most anything. I pulled out a white dress that had a tight lace bodice with a scalloped neckline. The sleeves were fitted and came to my mid arm but most of my chest and shoulders were bare. The skirt had a slight flair to it and came down to my mid thigh. I picked out a white lacey pair of thong panties and a lacey strapless bra. I put on a delicate gold chain with a gold double heart on it and a pair of small hoop gold earrings. I slid my feet into a pair of white open toe pumps with a slight heel. I took a quick look in the mirror and was pleased with the outcome. My legs were always toned being a waitress but the workouts I have been doing really had them well defined. My arms were not muscular but they too were well toned and my stomach had never been this flat. I gave myself another smile and I went downstairs to the game room and turned on the radio and watched the sunset out the wall of windows. I felt Eric rise and then I heard the shower. He never took long to get ready. He came downstairs in a well tailored black slacks and jacket and a white silk button down shirt under the jacket. It didn't matter if he was in jeans and t-shirt or dressed to the 9's he always looked so handsome. I guessed I had dressed correctly when he saw me and stopped and smiled. "You are a vision of beauty, Lover"  
"So I am dressed appropriately for whatever you have in mind" I smiled.  
"Lover, for what I have in mind right now, you are overdressed." He shot me a smile dripping with sex and fangs. "But we must go. We have tickets." "Tickets. We have tickets?" Eric escorted me out to the Escalade and helped me in stopping to give me a kiss after lifting me into the seat and he slipped his hand up under my skirt and began stroking my leg.  
"We have tickets remember?" I breathed into his mouth.  
He withdrew with a smirk on his face, "So we do."

He climbed into the SUV and raised the garage door. He looked like he should be much more comfortable in the luxurious leather seats of the Cadillac then folded into the Corvette. I had no idea where we were going. So I just sat back feeling blissful listening to the radio. "Lover," Eric broke the silence, "Did we have a visitor today? I was sure I caught an intriguing scent when I came downstairs."  
"Yes, Claudine came to see me, is that ok?"  
"Oh Lover, that is as much your home as it is mine now. As long as I am safe I want you to have anyone over you desire. I ask only one thing. If you plan to have guests over at sun down I need to know before I rise so that I may enter the house from outside so know one knows that I slumber in the house."  
"Oh Eric, I had never thought about that… I am so sorry."  
"You have nothing to be sorry about," he glanced over at me with a genuine smile that made me feel warm from the inside out, "you have done nothing wrong. There are some things being mortal that you wouldn't think about. I know you would never intentionally put my life in danger. I do trust you with my life. I told you before, you and Pam are the only two who know where my day chamber is. I have a passage door that leads out from my chamber and into the pool house so that I may enter the home from outside if I need to."  
"Ok, good to know. If I need to, can I just leave you a note on the inside of your chamber door so you know if something has changed during the day?"  
"I think that would be a great idea. I think that would work just fine." Then he took the exit to the airport.  
"Where are we going, Eric?"  
"Be patient Lover, I have a lovely evening planned for us." Then we took another exit towards the heliport area. We pulled up and there was a black helicopter sitting waiting for us. Eric got out and said something to a man waiting and then came and collected me. We got in the waiting helicopter and I have to admit I was a little nervous, I had only been on a plane a few times but I had never thought I would be in a helicopter. I knew Eric sensed my anxiety and he leaned to me and wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to him and I snuggled in. We landed after about 45 minutes or so. Eric exited the helicopter and then lifted me out giving me a soft kiss as he set me on the ground. A long stretch Hummer Limo pulled up to collect us. I was in awe. Eric was pulling out all the stops, well at least to this simple Northern Louisiana girl he was. "May I at least ask where we are?"  
"New Awlins" he said with a draw like he was a native from New Orleans. I grew tense. I hadn't been here since the battle between the Queen and her King. "Lover, relax, this trip is all pleasure, I promise." He pulled me to him and bent to kiss me and I responded and next thing I knew we were enthralled in a heavy makeout groping session. We almost didn't notice that the limo had come to a stop. We had just a moment to right ourselves before the driver opened the door. I didn't quite have my shields up and heard the driver thinking "_now that is one passenger I wouldn't have mind seeing stripped down and buffing the back seats"_ I started to blush a little and then, "_she's pretty hot for a chick but damn that is one huge fine specimen of a man"_ OK…EWW.  
"Where are we?"  
"The have recently reopened the Southern Repertory Theater. The play we are seeing tonight is _Private Eyes_. It's a comedy. Are you familiar with this theater?"  
"Is this the theater that features southern writers?"  
"Well, yes." He actually looked a little surprised. We watched the show, I laughed so hard at some points that I had tears in my eyes. I even heard Eric give a little chuckle now and then. After the play was over we climbed back in the limo and I was sure to put my shields up well before. I did not want to think about what that man had to say about MY MAN. Ok first that was just gross and secondly this is my vampire. He loves me and I love him and I don't want to hear the thoughts anyone else has about him. It was hard enough blocking out all the thoughts at Fangtasia, I wanted to enjoy this night just me and Eric. Eric scooped me up and deposited me into the back of the limo and climbed in and restarted our make out session immediately. He laid me back and slid his hand up my dress and began rubbing my nub through what there was of the thong panties I had put on. His finger slid inside of me and I gasped. Then he moved to my thigh and bit and the entire time he was feeding from me he kept his fingers moving at a rhythm that had me reaching my peak in no time, I was trying to hold my screams in as to not catch the attention of the driver. He withdrew licking the blood away and the wound began healing immediately. He was careful to make sure no blood got on my white dress. We sat up and I righted my hair and grinned at him and he pulled a handkerchief and wiped the blood from his mouth and smiled that sexy smile that I felt all the way through my body. "I can't believe we just did that, Eric there is a another person just a few feet away. I have never done anything like this before."  
"Lover, I would have stopped if you would have just said to."  
I just pulled him into me and kissed him. We stopped again. I could tell we were near the water. Eric took my hand and took me towards the Mississippi River where an actual steam boat was waiting. We were seated on the upper deck at the front of the boat. The name of the boat was Steamboat Natchez. I wished I knew I was going to be eating dinner outside on the water I would have brought a shawl. This is something Eric and I were going to have to work on. I ordered shrimp cocktail, a salad with tomato basil vinaigrette, and a steak with burgundy sauce with sautéed mushrooms and red potatoes for my entrée. Eric ordered a True Blood, O positive, my blood type. He ordered me a Champagne Cocktail. It meant so much to me that Eric didn't mind being with me while I ate. I was really beginning to catch a chill. As if Eric could feel my chill, he stood, "Lover, I am sorry, I should have thought that about you needing warmth out here on the water." He took his jacket off and came and wrapped it around me and I slid my arms through it. It was absolutely huge on me. I pushed the sleeves up and Eric reached down and kissed me on the neck. He sat back down and the vibe I was receiving from Eric through our bond was very confusing. He was in turmoil over something. It was making me very nervous. Then there was calm, just like that. He stood again and came around to my side of the table, "I left something in my pocket that I need," and he reached in and pulled it out. His huge hand covered the entire thing. I assumed it was his cell phone and he sat back down. I finished my meal and my drink and we spoke very little but it was not an uncomfortable silence. After I had eaten and they cleared my setting, Eric stood and held his hand out to me and I took it. "Lets go to the front of the boat and look out over the water." He placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me to the front of the boat.  
"Eric, tonight has been perfect. Thank you so much." I leaned into him and rested my head on his chest.  
"Sookie," in the deep soft voice that melted me like butter, "I hope to make it more special." I looked up into his eyes and I could feel such sincerity coming from him through our bond. He held my gaze and he began to lower himself down, but instead of stopping to kiss me, he continued to lower himself all the way down to stand on one knee. At his height I didn't have to look down far to keep his gaze. My breath was growing more quick and shallow. This couldn't be happening. Was this real? He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. I was beginning to tremble all over. He broke my gaze and looked down at his own hands and opened the box. He took out the ring, took my hand and looked up into my eyes again. "Sookie, from the time you took care of me when I lost my memory I knew then I needed you to be with me always. I know how hard it was for you when I was myself again, although somehow that experience that I could not remember changed me and I was never able to be the Eric I was before the witches cursed me. I always had this feeling that something was missing and when I regained my memory I understood what that was. That something was you. I never had intentions of being wed when I was human. I certainly have never tied myself to any other being human or not for any length of time other than Pam since my human days. Sookie, I cannot offer you days and nights filled with togetherness, but our nights together will be cherished always. I cannot give you children. But I will give you anything else you desire. Anything I have is yours. I will protect you with my life and I will stay with you always and I trust you with my life. Should the time come that you are ready to be vampire, I will do this for you as well. Sookie, I love you, will you marry me?"  
Tears were streaming down my face, "Oh Eric, are you sure about this?"  
"I have never been more sure of anything in my 1023 years of existence." He slid the ring on my finger.  
"Yes, yes, yes." I threw my arms around his neck with such force I knocked him off balance. He caught himself with one hand on the floor and stood with me still clinging to him lifting my feet off the ground and I was frantically kissing him all over his face. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he pulled his hands to my face and gave me a deep long tender kiss that I never wanted to end. But I had to come up for air. He eased me down to the floor and I held my hand under the light to look at the ring on my finger for the first time. The center stone was a huge blood red ruby shaped like a tear drop, ok a blood drop. On each side of it was a heart shaped diamond with the top of the heart against the ruby. The band was titanium. "Oh Eric, its absolutely beautiful!" Tears were rolling down my face and I threw my arms back around his neck and pulled him to me for another long kiss.


	3. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

We rode back to the airport with virtually no spoken communication.  
We kissed we touched and we shared happiness between us with our blood bond. We took the same helicopter back to Shreveport. After reaching the airport in Shreveport we climbed back into the Escalade and headed home. "Eric, I am so happy, I never thought I would ever get married. We will actually get married, right?  
"Lover, you tell me when and we will be married. We would be married tonight if it was your wish and we had enough time before dawn. I told you when I was cursed by the witches that I would give up everything and spend every day with you. Neither of us have to give up much and we can still spend every day or well night together for as long as you will have me."  
"I really would like to have a nice wedding, nothing too fancy, but a nice wedding with my brother and our friends."  
"Lover, I have lived for over 1000 years and never thought I would wed, I am sure whatever you have in mind will be the most perfect night for both of us." He glanced at me with a sincere smile and ran his fingers lightly down my arm and goose bumps covered my arm.

We pulled into the garage and Eric came around to help me out of the SUV I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled me to him and we shared another slow long deep kiss. He scooped me up in his arms and carried me inside. We continued to kiss as he carried me upstairs taking two or three steps at a time with his long muscular legs. "Lover," he breathed into my mouth, "we don't have much time before dawn." And quickly he carried me back down the flight of stairs to his day chamber. He sat me down and I felt the urgency in him growing through our bond. But my great 1000 year old Viking vampire was actually nervous about our pending copulation. I could feel this as clearly as any emotion I have ever felt.  
I put my hands on either side of his face and stared into his eyes, "What's wrong Eric. Are you having second thoughts?" I was feeling a little afraid how he might answer. "No, that's not it at all, Lover," and he gave me a slight smile. "I have actually never made love before."  
"What are you talking about after all the times we have been together?"  
"We have been together and it has been great. I have known how I felt about you and how you say you feel about me. Now I have asked you to marry me and you agreed to bestow that honor upon me, this will be our first time to make love."  
"Oh, Eric that is so sweet. I am so honored to be the first and last person you will ever make love to," I was completely sincere. I had never thought about it that way before. This master vampire had just pledged his life to me, a human, this was sure to cause us problems somewhere, but right now he was nervous about making love to me. This night had been perfect so far and I know us being together would top the night off. I leaned up to his mouth and gave him a gentle kiss and pulled away. "If you want we can wait until our wedding night before we are intimate again." I flashed him a smile and a couple of long bats of my eyelashes.  
"Lover, unless we are to be married in the next ten minutes there is no way I will be able to keep my hands and other body parts from you." He returned the smile. I began unbuttoning his shirt and slid it off into a pile on the floor. He pulled my dress over my head and returned to kissing me slowly and deeply. I fumbled with his belt finally unbuckled it and undid his pants and slowly slid his pants past his hips and let them fall to his feet. He lifted me and cradled me into his arms and moved to the side of the bed. He gently laid me down on the bed continuing to kiss me and then he moved down my neck and kissing his way down to my breast. I arched my back and he slid his hand behind and with ease, unfastened my bra from behind and slid it off and dropped it onto the floor. He began gently massaging my breasts moving his mouth from nipple to nipple being sure they both had adequate attention. I was stoking his shoulders and running my hands through his golden hair. He began moving down my stomach with kisses as light as air but not yet removing his hands from my breasts. He reached the top of my white thong panties and slid one hand down my side never breaking contact and under my hips. He reached behind me and grasped the back of the thong gently pulling it down and off my feet and tossing it near my bra. Never at any point did he completely break contact with my skin. He kissed back up my stomach, between my breast, and back up my neck and found his way back to my mouth. I could feel his readiness between us. He slowly moved up between my legs and I was so anxious to feel him inside of me. He pulled away from my mouth and looked at me our eyes fixed on each other's and he slowly slid inside of me never breaking our gaze. It took him three attempts before he was able to push himself all the way into me. Slow rhythm and with each stroke completely filling me up. I was gently moving my hips up to meet his and within minutes we were in sync meeting each other's thrusts and never breaking our gaze into each other's eyes. Our rhythm sped up and the thrusts became harder, harder and faster and then Eric threw his head back moaning in the language I didn't understand at the same time I was screaming "OH MY GOD, ERIC!" After reaching our climax together I lay there in the afterglow of successful love making thinking to myself that was exactly what had just happened. There wasn't any moving into different positions, none of my clothes were destroyed and even though he had fed from me earlier I never even saw his fangs tonight. We made love to each other. We laid in silence and contentment. My vampire was wrapped around me and I snuggled into him and we drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
I woke the next morning with a complete feeling of happiness. I glanced at the clock and it was 1pm. I unwrapped myself from Eric and scooted out of the bed and grabbed the robe I had started keeping in the bathroom down here. I went upstairs knowing that I needed to pack for our trip tonight but first I needed to eat and call Amelia and Tara and Jason. Wait, I thought to myself. Eric and I hadn't talked about this. He may not be ready for our engagement to be public yet. As much as I wanted to shout it to everyone I might run into, I thought it best to wait. Maybe we could have a party when we got back and announce it together. Yes, I think that would be best. An engagement party! I was so excited even if within myself. I could keep this secret for another week or so. Right now we needed to focus on business. Although I was really excited because I would presumably have my days free to sunbathe, my one vice, on the beach at the ocean. I was glad we were traveling at night so Eric and I could travel together, he would not have to travel in his coffin. I had hoped where we were staying would have rooms set up so we could stay together. I know that Eric and the King of Florida go way back. But we really hadn't discussed how far and what their history was. Maybe that is something we can talk about on the plane. We are going straight to the King's home from the airport when we get in, Eric told me to dress casual but I want to be sure I look good for him. I went downstairs to have some coffee and lunch since it was so late in the day. I enjoyed my lunch out on the patio by the pool I guess I lingered a little bit enjoying the sunshine but I knew I needed to go up and pack.

I took a hot shower and let my thoughts slip back to the wonderful night we had last night and stood under the water admiring my beautiful ring. It definitely isn't your typical engagement ring, but then my new fiancée wasn't your typical southern beau. But I had to admit it was absolutely gorgeous. I don't know much about jewelry but I know that Eric only bought the finest things and I am betting he had this custom made just for me. I smiled to myself and finished my shower. I knew I needed to get a move on because we would have to head to the airport soon after Eric woke up. I left my hair down and added a few curls to the ends and put on a little makeup. I slipped into some lacey under things and decided to wear dark blue lowrise jeans that showed my figure nicely and a short sleeved red argyle top and black low spike heel boots. I carried my suitcase and hanging bag downstairs and made a glass of tea. I was completely ready an hour before Eric would be waking. The next hour passed in no time with me deep in my own thoughts about the future then I heard the shower. I didn't dare go upstairs I didn't want to chance Eric and I missing our plane. Within a few minutes he came downstairs in jeans a designer t-shirt and boots with his suitcase in hand. He made anything look great. I met him at the bottom of the stairs and he smiled, now I was really glad I hadn't gone upstairs.

"Lover, you are happy. This is one of the nicest feelings I have ever awakened to." He bent and kissed me and I kissed him back which immediately led to more kissing and stroking then what we had time for. I pulled away. "Florida" is all I managed to say. With that he gathered all our bags and put them in the Escalade and we left for the airport. "Lover, what did you do today? Did you announce our engagement while I slept?"  
"Almost. I was so excited I wanted to call everyone that I knew. I wanted to scream it from the rooftops. Then I realized you and I had not discussed this yet and I didn't know if you were ready for our engagement to become public. I didn't know if you needed to or already had spoken to Filipe yet. Then I thought this is your first engagement and mine I thought we would do what many couples do, Eric, can we have an engagement party when we get back from Florida?"  
"Lover, you never stop amazing me. You actually considered proper vampire politics before sharing our joy? Thank you for thinking about what was best for both of us." "That's what couples do, Eric," I rested my hand on to his shoulder. "Yes, so it is. And know that I will remember that. You will always be first before anything else, including my King. You are right I do need to inform the King. I will not ask his permission. Lover, if this is a secret you are content on keeping a little while longer then I will throw you an absolutely grand party any queen deserves in announcing her engagement." We reached the airport with little more talk but the silence was not uncomfortable. My thoughts wondered more to the task at ahead of us.


	5. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

We arrived at the airport to catch our flight on Annabus Air and as we walked through the terminal almost all eyes in the terminal turned to look at the huge Viking walking through the airport. He had not fed tonight so he was pretty pale and the looks on people's faces when they realized this huge specimen they were staring out was not just a gorgeous man but a huge vampire. Well the range of expression made me almost laugh out loud. I didn't dare let my shields down in such a public place and I knew with so many eyes on us that I didn't dare take my guards down to be bombarded with the thoughts they were thinking about us. I felt a little stir inside, Eric from our bond, surly he wasn't feeling uneasy he was to self assured and definitely didn't care what anyone thought about him. His pace slowed as we reached our boarding terminal, I must admit I was a little thankful because his normal stride had me feeling like I was power walking. "Lover, it seems that your beauty has everyone staring at us," he said with a little smirk then his fangs ran out so only I could see. All eyes were still on us. I think people had even wondered down to our terminal to look at this beautiful vampire. Vampires have been out of the coffin for several years now but there were still many people that had never seen one in person or at least not realizing they had. There was that little stir again, what was he thinking. He bent to me flashing me his fangs and drew me in for a passionate kiss, which I could not refuse but felt a little uneasy with in public. Then his assault on my mouth moved down to my neck and he leaned his head back flashing his fangs and gave a loud growl and bent down to my neck. There were actually screams that erupted. Of course he didn't bite. He pulled his head back up and flashed a fangy smile at the crowd gathered and let out an audible chuckle and we boarded the plan. My vampire obviously had an evil sense of humor! I have to admit I couldn't help but chuckle right along with him. This would definitely be a trip to the airport none of those people would forget.

My experience in flying was very limited and still made me a little nervous and this was definitely the largest plane I had ever been on. We were seated in first class, why would I think Eric would fly any other way. I could imagine him trying to fold himself into one of the seats in coach and actually smiled to myself. I had never traveled first class. The seats were huge and there was enough legroom for Eric to extend his legs straight out. The flight attendant came through before we took off to make sure we didn't need anything. I glanced around to take a look at the other first class passengers to see whom or what we were traveling with. I let my guard down a little so I could determine. There were only five other people or bodies I should say in first class. There was another vampire dressed in a very business style suit with a briefcase sprawled out next to him. There was a young couple. They were both shifters. Although I don't read shifter minds very well I did pick up that they were heading to Florida on their honeymoon. That made me smile. That would be me one day soon. I was just assuming that Eric and I would take a honeymoon. There was a void behind us so without turning I knew there was another vampire without turning to look. The last person was a very beautiful dark haired human woman. Odd I thought, but who knows these days. Once we were in the air the flight attendant came around to ask us if we would like a drink or food. Eric ordered two True Bloods, O positive of course, I ordered a diet coke and the chicken mushroom jack dinner they had to offer. Eric had a third True Blood and I had actually had a gin and tonic.

"Eric so you have stayed with the King of Florida before?" I said in a low voice. "Yes, Drake and I have a long history."  
Now I didn't know if Drake was a first or last name and that certainly wasn't as elaborate of an answer that I wanted. "And" I smiled.  
"Forgive me Lover, I am still getting accustomed to explaining myself to someone," he smiled. "The King of Florida is Drake Valk. He is a bit older than me. We have a history and right now is not the time or the place to fill you in on it. I will tell you more details when we are alone, I promise." A smile and a sweet kiss and I heard the landing gear go down. We strolled through the airport with many of the same stares we had received in Florida. "Everyone is staring at your beauty again, Lover," Eric said as we were waiting on our luggage to come up from the plane with a fangless smile. Ok, so we weren't going to put on the same show here. Good. I was still feeling nervous about our trip. "Lover, relax," Eric had felt my inner tension through our bond, "I won't let anything happen to you."  
"I know. I know. I just can't help but be nervous. Every time I have traveled to try and help something horrible always happens to me. I really am not in the mood to almost die again." Eric grabbed all our luggage as it came around the carousel and we made our way out. There was a driver standing in front of a limo with a sign **NORTHMAN**.The driver opened the door for us and Eric placed his hand on the small of my back guiding me in first and once he was in the driver closed the door and put our luggage into the trunk. The driver asked through the open window between him and us, "Mr. Northman, is there anyplace you would like to go before I take you to the Kings mansion?" "No, straight to the King" Eric answered and the driver put the window up to give us our privacy.

I snuggled into my vampire laying my left hand on his leg and I took another minute to admire the ring he had just given me last night. I looked up at him "Eric, thank you for such a beautiful ring. It is more than I could have ever hoped for."  
"Sookie, it makes me very happy that you like it. I thought long and hard about the design. The ruby symbolizes our blood bond to each other and the two heart diamonds represent us. The blood bond has bound us but the fact that our two hearts now belong to each other is something more then I could have ever hoped for. Sookie," he put his hand under my chin and stared into my eyes, "I haven't felt my heart beat within my chest in over a 1000 years but when I am with you I feel you within me, you are my heartbeat." My own heart was overjoyed with the words he had just said to me and tears of joy filled my eyes, "Oh Eric, I love you so much. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you. I AM YOURS. The fact you designed the ring for me makes me love it and you even more if that is possible. " I kissed him and we settled into each other contently for the rest of the ride. Normally I would be excited about being in a new place and trying to see the sites we passed in the dark but right now all I cared about was the vampire, my vampire, my love, my fiancée sitting next to me.


	6. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

We arrived at King Drake Valk's mansion. I could hear and smell the ocean near. Mansion, yes, this definitely was a mansion. There was a long driveway with palm trees on either side pulled up to the house that ended in a circular drive with a magnificent water fountain in the center. The lights shown up and illuminated the stone statue of a stallion rearing. The structure itself was magnificent I felt as though we were at some grand hotel. The house seemed so elaborate. There were six marbled columns across the front that kept a grand overhang over the entrance of the same matching stone. There were potted trees and a couple of sitting areas and centered in it all was the magnificent doorway leading into the foyer. Once inside the marble stone continued into the foyer were we were greeted my Ethan Mason, the King's second in command. "Northman," he said with a slight bow to Eric, "the King is waiting for you come this way. Miss Stackhouse, nice to see you again." He said it as a definite after thought. We walked through a grand room with elegant furniture and decorations anchored by the same marble encasing a grand fireplace. We walked down a corridor and our escort stopped to give a quick knock on a door not waiting for a response he opened it and quickly stepped inside leaving the door open for us to follow. Eric took my hand in his and gently pulled me up along side him to be his equal. The chair turned from behind a desk and sitting before me was another huge vampire. He was broad shouldered with a very defined muscular face his hair was about the same length as Eric's only a medium brown in color. As he stood he was nearly as tall as Eric's six foot five inches. Valk was a maybe 2 inches shorter than Eric and he had a bit more meatier look to him but you could tell that there was definitely plenty of muscle in no way what I was seeing was fat.

"King Valk," Eric bowed.  
"Northman, good to see you again." The King gave a nod.  
"Please let me present to you Sookie Stackhouse." Eric turned to me.  
I did my little bow thing. I am never going to get used to this but I do what I can and try not to burst out laughing at how ridiculous I feel, "Pleased to meet you, King" He came from around the desk and as I stood he took my hand and gave it a light kiss, "The pleasure is mine. Thank you for coming all this was to try and help us in our plight." I didn't get any jealous feeling from Eric as King Valk touched me. I didn't understand that. I had come to expect something in this type of situation.  
Eric asked, "Would you like to brief us now?"  
Valk motioned to the sitting area across the room. I noticed for the first time the room itself. We were in a library. There were books from floor to ceiling on two of the walls complete with a sliding ladder to reach all the books. I wondered if I would be permitted or if I would have time to thumb through some of the books. Since I barely got through high school with all the interference in my brain I had never even attempted college. I do love to read and have obtained most of my education myself through reading a vast variety of books. There was a large leather couch a rich mahogany color matching the wood on the book shelves and two matching chairs facing it with a long table sitting on a beautiful plush rug between the chairs and couch that faced each other. Eric and I sat on the couch. He resumed holding my hand and Valk and Mason took the chairs opposite of us. "Mason will give you the details," the King said.  
"We have now had four vampires in Florida murdered. Each murder has occurred during the day so we know one of our own did not actually do the deed. The first murder was nearly two months ago. The vampire was a commoner. He held no specific rank, he had no power and did not own a business or contribute to our causes. Since he was found staked with a broom handle in his own bed we first assumed he was just careless in choosing his meal for the night." This made me a little uneasy and I shifted in my seat. Eric gently squeezed my hand and other than that there was no acknowledgement of my reaction. "The next murder took place about two weeks later and this murder was of a business owner. He owned an exotic dance club, Vixens. He was found staked on one of the stages in his own club. Again another two weeks passed and another business owner was found staked in his establishment, he owned one of our all night dry cleaners. Another two weeks passed and one of our state council members was found staked in his own coffin. Next occurring another two weeks later The most recent murder happened another two weeks later and this time it was someone the King knew on a more personal level. The business owner owned a local nightclub in which the king owns a percentage, Night Sins. This club is similar to your own Northman." Mason continued, "We know in speaking with associates and nest mates of the of vampires with the exception of the first, which we figure must have been a test subject, that all of the vampires were in their day chambers when dawn approached. Who or whatever is doing this has been able to learn of the resting places and were able to get to them and in two of the instances take them to their businesses and murder them where their remains were sure to be found. We have found no organization that takes claim to these actions. We are frankly at a loss and Miss Stackhouse that is where you come in. We are hoping you will be able to help point us in a direction of who is doing this," he concluded.  
"I promise I will do all that I can to help you." I said somewhat expressionless. I really didn't want to be involved in the middle of this, but I had made a promise a long time ago to Eric to help where I could.  
"Ethan, leave us now so that I can catch up with the Northman on the happenings in Louisiana."  
Mason stood a little reluctantly, "Shall I have Miss Stackhouse shown to her room?"  
"No, she will stay with me," Eric cut him a glare and Mason left the room in a huff. I assume he was a bit upset that this lowly human was able to stay with the King while he was dismissed. What happened next totally shocked me. Eric and Drake both stood and looked each other with all seriousness standing on either side of the table. I was beginning to get a little uneasy at the deep stare they were giving each other. Then with a quick movement they leaned over the table and gave each other a manly hug with slaps on the back. "Brother, how have you been?" Drake almost screamed. Ok, I was definitely missing something here. I have been around vampires for five years now and I have never seen such a display of human type emotion between two vampires. Eric answered him in the language I only heard in the heat of passion or the heat of anger and Drake responded. This went on for a few minutes and I just sat there with what must have been the dumbest look on my face. Drake had called Eric brother, obviously they could easily be from the same heritage with only one with blonde the other with brown hair. They are built similarly and share other obvious similarities and Eric did say they had a long history and that Drake was a little older then him. Were they actually brothers? My thoughts were interrupted. "Lover," Eric laid his huge hand on my shoulder and I stood, "Sookie this is Drake. Drake, Sookie." Drake came around the table and I turned to smile at him and before I knew it he reached his trunk like arms around my me under my arms and squeezed me lifting me off the ground in a bear hug with a big kiss on the cheek. "Sookie, I am so happy to finally meet you. Eric has told me much about you."  
"He has? Um, Drake, may I call you Drake? I am sorry to say he hasn't shared you with me at all." I said as I felt like the life was being squeezed out of me and he sat me back down.  
"You may call me Drake when we are in private. But for the safety of all of us, please address me as King, sire, or any of those other noble terms when in public views of others. I know Eric hasn't told you about me. There are few that still walk the earth that know of our relationship."  
"Relationship?"  
"Lover, I told you Drake and I have a history. We battled together and we traveled the world together. No, in our human life Drake and I were not of the same blood line it was only in death that we shared this connection. Drake disappeared after a battle on a small island and a few years later we found our ship docking off the shores of this island again. We were not there for battle this time, just docking to get supplies. While wondering the land I ran into what I thought to be a beautiful native girl. She smiled and next thing I knew she and I were in each others arms," I must have given off a vibe of jealousy or something uneasy because Eric reached out and ran his hand from my shoulder lightly down to my hand and held it. We all sat. Eric and I back on the couch and Drake actually sat on the table. "The next thing I remembered at the time was waking in a dark cave with a hunger like I had never experienced before. After spending many days alone with Alana learning to feed and learning about my new nature she introduced me to the rest of the her children. Back then it was very common for vampires to nest together for safety. Drake and I had suffered the same fate two great warriors seduced and turned by a beautiful young woman. We have been able to keep our allegiance secret all of these years. We wish to keep it that way. Normally children of the same maker do not associate with each other. Drake and I were able to continue our human relationship after our death. You know how I trust Pam, and yes, she does know of Drake, I trust Drake even more. He is my friend, my brother."  
I was just a little speechless for a second with both of the giant vampires staring at me. Then I had a slap of reality, "What happened to Alana? Is she still… around?" "Lover, that is a matter to discuss at another time," he took both of my hands and looked deep into my eyes as if reading my mind, "you have nothing to worry about where she is concerned." He knew I was worried if he would be called to his Maker and would leave me like Bill had done.  
"Let me see the ring," an almost giddy voice coming from the King of Florida. I held out my hand, "You know?"  
"Of course, did we just not tell you we are brothers? I helped to set Eric up with the perfect jeweler to make his design." He took my hand from Eric's and stared at the ring. "Wow brother, it's beautiful… you big woos." He said with a smile and a slap on the shoulder hard enough it would have knocked anyone else across the room. "Before Mason comes back to check up on us and find us in this intimate setting I better let you two get to your room. Sookie, I am glad to finally meet you and thank you for taking care of Eric when the witches cursed him," he leaned and gave me a little peck on the cheek. He walked across the room back to the desk and pushed a button on the phone. "See my guests to their room." In just a moment a servant wearing a grey suite appeared motioning us to come with him. We walked back down the corridor and back across the room we had when we entered and up a grand staircase to an the second level of the mansion. We walked down the hallway to the last door on the right.  
"This will be your room while you are with us. If you need anything please do not hesitate to ask." He opened the door and we all walked into the huge room. "He motioned with his hand, "your private bath is through those doors and your luggage has been unpacked and placed in the closets and chests," another motion of his hand. "My name is Duncan, I am the night staff administrator. Miss Stackhouse, when you awaken in the morning you will seek my daytime associate, Brianna, she will assist you with anything you need. The King has left instructions for you to have use of a car and you are welcome to use the pool and we have a private beach on the ocean at the back of the property." He gave us a little bow and backed out of the room.


	7. Chapter 22

Chapter 22  
In the room was a huge king size four poster bed with a beautiful burgundy velvet canopy the comforter on the bed matched and the dust ruffle was a shimmering gold. There were a ton of pillows at the head of the bed in all shapes and sizes in the rich burgundy and gold colors. The floors hardwood but the bed set on a plush carpet with matching colors. There was a beautiful chest in the room matching the cherry wood on the bed with the same intricate carvings. The floors were hardwood and stained to near match the furniture. I noticed the ceiling above the bed was inset to allow for the canopy and the molding along the tops of the walls was more detailed then any I had ever seen. There were a set of ornate double doors that Duncan had said led to the bathroom. On the opposite side of the room was another matching door that I could only assume was the closet since Duncan had motioned to it earlier. I walked across the room to the closet and opened the door. The lights automatically came on, how cool was that! The room inside was a large as my whole room at my old house in Bon Temps. Inside all of Eric's clothes had been hung on one side and his shoes set on a shoe rack and mine on the other side. In the back of the closet was another set of doors. I folded them open and there was a coffin. I had a little bit of sadness run through my body. "Lover," I jumped as Eric had startled me I didn't hear him come up behind me, "the coffin is for those who want to sleep in one, and many of us prefer to stay in the coffin for security purposes. All of the glass in the house, except the sunroom is opaque just as it was at the hotel in Rhodes. I will sleep with you. If that's alright with you."  
"I don't know, we aren't married yet, I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea of what kind of girl I am." I said with a huge grin.  
"Oh Miss Stackhouse, please forgive me for my forwardness. However can I make it up to you." He bowed at his waist. Yes, my 1000 year old vampire definitely had a since of humor.  
"I am feeling a little tense and tired from our long plane ride, I do suppose I could let you draw me a bath and bath me from head to toe." I looked at him batting my lashes. He swooped me up without a word throwing me over his shoulder my hair trailing down past his perfect butt. I was rather enjoying this view and I couldn't help myself and I grabbed two handfuls of that perfect ass.  
"Miss Stackhouse, please, I don't want you to get the wrong idea about what kind of gentleman I am" I couldn't see his face but I knew he had a big grin.  
"Oh Mr. Northman," sounding as humbly as I can hanging upside down, "please forgive me I must make it up to you."  
"Oh I think we can arrange that" and I felt him bend and turn the water on in the tub. He sat me down and I got my first look at this luxurious bathroom. As expected in any vampires home, the tub was huge and jetted. Vampires loved their bath and shower time. Eric deposited me on the floor in front of the tub and stood and front of me and slipped his t-shirt off and tossed it aside. Then he moved his and down to his own waste and as he was unbuckling his belt he kicked off his boots then he slid his pants down and he stood in front of me in just his red silk boxers. He moved to me reaching out and running his hands through my hair gently pulling my head back slightly. He bent and gave me a tender kiss. He slid hands down my arms and then gently grasped my hands lifted my arms above my head, running his hand back down my arms and down my sides he grabbed the bottom of my red shirt and pulled it up over my head and tossed it over with his clothes. My hands still above my head he takes them again and moves them back to my sides running his hands down the length of my legs while bending to his knees. He took my boots off and then slid my jeans off. There we stood, he in his red silk boxers and me in my red lace bra and panties. As he stood he kissed his way from by knees all the was up to my mouth where he drew me in for a long deep kiss slipping his hands to my back and unfastening my bra tossing it aside. I reached up to his broad shoulders running my hands down his arms and encircling his waist sliding the tips of my fingers under the bands of his boxers then slid my hands all the way down cupping my hands on either side of his perfect ass and I squeezed. He gave a little moan into my mouth. Then he mirrored my actions and his hands were inside panties cupping my ass. I shimmied his boxers down and he did a little wiggle for them to fall all the way down, neither of us giving the assault on the others mouth. Then he scooped me up and managed to slide off my panties before putting us both in the tub. We sat down into the hot water with the jets going full blast it was instant relaxation. Eric turned me with his back to him and he began messaging my shoulders and I began to make little groaning noises at how good it felt. Another talent he could add to his arsenal. He worked his way from my shoulders slowly down my back. Once he finished he pulled the sprayer nozzle on the faucet and began wetting my hair then he messaged in one of my favorite scents, orange ginger, and he messaged my scalp until I was so relaxed I felt like a big pile of mush sitting in the tub. He rinsed my hair gently being sure not to pull or make tangles. I turned to face him gave him a deep kiss and then stood. He looked up at me as I scooted him forward and sat on the edge of the bathtub and I gave him the same treatment he had just given me, shoulders, back and then I washed his hair. Our blood bond shooting back and forth between us just amplified the serenity of our moods. We stood and dried each other and accompanied each other into the bedroom. Eric lifted me and placed my naked body on the huge bed, I sank into the softness of the bed. Eric climbed in next to me and we lay touching and caressing each other. I had an incredible desire wash through my body and as much as I wanted for my vampire to ravage my body I wanted to taste him. Wash this my feeling or his. Sometimes it was so hard to tell. Was I actually wanting to taste blood? I gently pushed Eric onto his back and straddled him. I kissed his mouth, I nibbled his ear lobe, and I kissed down his neck and onto his chest. I moved down to his let nipple flicking it with my tongue, sucking it and then a gentle nip. This received a low growl in response, then I couldn't help myself, I took a deep breath and put my mouth down covering his entire nipple area and bit, hard, and began to suck. Eric let out a loud growl and his hands went into my hair pulling up but I was latched on and then he simply moved my hair out of the way and positioned himself so he could see. He moved his hands down to my hips and one slid between us to held guide himself into my wetness. With the first thrust I let out a moan of my own and after a few more entries with his massive shaft I released my hold on his chest and sat up and began riding him. He sat up pulling us close together and began kissing my breasts. I didn't even feel the pain of his fangs sinking in just the excitement of him drawing my blood into his mouth. I felt myself on the verge of what felt like a sheer tidal wave of an orgasm. He released his bite and we both pick up speed searching for our release. I began riding harder and harder and I was running my hands in his long blond locks and then when I hit my peak I came so hard that every muscle in my body tensed and I pulled Eric's hair so hard he actually made a gasping noise but he didn't stop as I came to the end of my explosion he raise us both off the bed and he stood laying me on my back on the edge of the bed with my legs still wrapped around his waist. He continued withdrawing from me almost completely and then pushing back in all the way. The height of the bed put us in perfect alignment for this position. He moved his arms under my knees placing his hands on my hips and using my own body for leverage to plunge deeper and deeper inside me. I couldn't believe it, I was coming again so soon. "Don't Stop, Please Don't Stop, Ohhh Ohhh Ohhh Yes" and then we both reached the height of our love making session together and Eric let out a rumble in that language I don't understand. Eric leaned over on top of me and kissed me deeply but it wasn't a long kiss as I was already out of breath and had to come up for air. Some day I am going to have to ask him what he is saying. Then again, maybe I don't want to know.

We moved back up on the bed and under the cover and Eric raised himself up on an elbow to look down over me. "Sookie, Lover, that was amazing. I don't think you understand what it does to me when you take my blood."  
"Oh, I think I have some idea," I gave his a coy smile. "Seriously Eric, I had this over powering feeling that I had to taste you and I just couldn't stop myself. Should I ask you before I take your blood?"  
"I am yours as much as you are mine, you may drink of me anytime you wish. I ask that we keep our private lives private and just as I try to make sure my fang marks are in discrete places, I ask that you do the same," he ran his fingers through my hair and bent to kiss me. I knew that by the time he awakened tomorrow night the bite marks I left on his chest would be gone. His fang marks would linger a few days or longer depending on when he fed from that spot again.

As we lay there in the blissful afterglow of successful love making I wondered over tonight's events in my brain. I wondered what Eric meant by I didn't have to worry about Alana that he would never leave me. Did a vampire at some point win his independence from his Maker after a certain number of years? Was Alana finally dead? I had never really stopped to ponder much about the events that led up to Eric being a vampire. I can't even imagine the things he has been witness to over the last 1000 years. Did he have a birth day or a death day? Do vampires celebrate the day they were made vampires the way humans celebrate their birth? He and Drake have known each other, literally forever, I wonder how they keep this a secret. I guess staying several thousand miles apart helps. I suppose Eric was sensing my mind racing with questions, " Lover, for someone who has just had hours of some of the best sex of her life, your mind is not resting."  
I turned to face him, "I was just thinking, it's not important."  
"I was just thinking about… Alana" I looked at him wide eyed.  
He kissed the top of my head and snuggled me into him and ran his fingers through my hair, "Lover, you do not have to worry I will never leave you fro Alana like Bill did for Lorena. I won my independence from Alana over 700 years ago and if that is not enough to bring peace to your mind, Alana no longer walks the earth."  
"Oh, I'm sorry." I wasn't sure that was the right response but she was his Maker I felt like I should say something.  
"Don't be sorry. Be glad that you never met her. Her unwillingness to progress with the centuries brought about her demise. Alana was very old, I am not quite sure how old, when she turned me, because of her ways, her unwillingness to evolve with the times is what brought her to meet her final death."  
"You _won_ your independence?" I looked up into his face.  
He had a far away look in his eyes as he was remember, "One night we were hunting Alana liked to hunt on her own and she grew more careless as the days went by. She had fallen into a large animal trap set by hunters. The trap was a pit dug into the ground with several sharpened stakes at the bottom, she was lucky that none of them came close to her heart. Drake and I heard her cries and smelled her blood and before agreeing to help her out of the pit and get her back to safety she had to agree to release us forever. We would no longer be tied to her. After we pulled her from the pit each of us took a turn feeding her our blood. We barely made our way to safety before the dawn. That night when Drake and I rose Alana was already gone. We heard from one of her other children that stayed with her that she was finally dead only 20 years later. So you see I am free of the burden of waiting for my Maker to call me into service. This is why I have always given Pam the choice of being with me. She is my child but I would never want to cause her undo misery this could be dangerous for both of us in the long run."  
After I was sure he was finished sharing, and that was a lot of sharing for him, I asked the question I had wondered about on more than one occasion, "Eric, do you have other… children?"  
He looked deep into my eyes with a hint of sadness, "none that still walk the earth. Pam is the last I turned. I had made two others before her and they have met their final death very long ago."  
Again, not knowing exactly what to say I snuggled back into him, "I'm sorry" I said softly. We drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 23

Chapter 23  
When I woke up I was still curled up in the arms of my vampire. It was never easy removing myself from him when we slept like this since he really was dead weight I was moving when I would pry myself out of his arms. But it was so worth waking up next to him. I found myself moving a little gingerly as my lower abdomen was a little tender from all the deep thrusts into it last night. I smiled at myself thinking about Eric's bounty as I took care of necessities and then climbed into the shower. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and slipped on my new bikini I bought at the mall, black with hot pink polka dots all over it and the top was the kind with the underwire and the bottoms tied on the sides. I slathered some suntan lotion all over me and slid on a pair of Capri jeans and a black Fangtasia t-shirt and slid my feet into a pair of black flip flops. I was determined to get at least one day in on the beach before we were down to all business. Since I didn't have any instructions that I knew of giving me duties to fulfill today I thought I would just spend a leisurely day on the beach reading, listening to my mp3 player, napping and working on my tan. So I grabbed a bag and stuffed all the things I thought I would need in it and headed down stairs for a little breakfast before heading to the beach.

I reached the bottom of the stairs and realized I had no idea where the kitchen was in this hotel sized home. Brianna was the name Duncan told me last night. I wonder how I go about finding her I thought to myself. Ok, no one in site, lucky me with my special gift I could search out someone with both my ears and my mind. So I let down my guards, I wondered into the room we crossed through last night looking to pick up on someone's brain waves, nothing. I wondered back a little further into the house searching for any noise with my ears or in my head. Finally, I heard voices as I made my way back through the house. A woman's voice sounding very much like a teacher giving directions, I hesitated because I didn't want to interrupt and I found myself in a large room with a wall of windows. They were the same opaque windows that were in the rest of the house but the furniture was very casual. White wicker with soft beige cushions with palm tree print and there were potted trees and flowers sitting all around the room. I noticed a door at the corner of the room and I walked out into an actual sun room decorated the exact same way. I giggled to myself at the thought of a vampire _sun_ room and a human sun room. The real sun room led out to the huge swimming pool. There was a tall rock wall with a waterfall pouring down into the pool and built around the back of the wall was a waterslide and no vampire pool would be complete without a big jetted hot tub attached. As I was coming back inside from admiring the pool I almost jumped out of my skin, "Miss Stackhouse I presume?" the voice that had been giving directions just moments ago said to me.  
"Yes, please call me Sookie." I gave my nervous smile since I hadn't quite gotten my wits about me yet.  
"My name is Brianna, I have been expecting you. Is there anything I can do for you?" She was tall, younger than I expected with dark hair pulled up in a bun and black rimmed fashionable glasses. She was dressed in a very conservative black skirt that came just below her knees and a black jacket with a white collared shirt and sensible black shoes. Yet, I couldn't help but feel like I had seen her somewhere before. "I was actually hoping to for a little breakfast. If you could show me to the kitchen I would gladly tend to myself."  
"Miss…. Oh, um, Sookie, please follow me, we have a staff that will get you anything you desire. Will you require a car for today?"  
"Thank you, I don't mean to be any trouble. I don't believe I will need a car today unless there have been instruction left for me that require me to leave the grounds."  
"I didn't receive any paperwork to give to you. I will assume you are free to do as you wish today. Please be seated, Maria will be with you in just a moment. If you do decide you need a car, please let me know and I will arrange for the King's limo to drive you or if you prefer I can have a car brought up from the garage for you to drive yourself." I was feeling definitely undressed as she sat me at an elaborate dining table enough for at least 20 people to sit. She rang a bell on the side table and a middle aged plump lady with almost black hair and an olive complexion came bustling out and spoke very courteously asked, "Yes Miss Brianna," with a heavy Spanish accent. "Miss Stackhouse will be staying with us for a week or so, please see to it that she has whatever she desires from the kitchen. Please inform the rest of the staff." With that she looked back down at me and turned on her heels and walked out of the room.  
The plump little lady with a forced smile walked up beside me inclining her head "Miss Stackhouse, what would you like for breakfast?"  
"Please call me Sookie, Maria. If the coast is clear do you think you could take me back to the kitchen and let me at least help make something for myself? To be honest I feel a little uncomfortable and a little ridiculous sitting at this huge table by myself and well, honestly, I am used to taking care of myself." I flashed her a genuine smile. "Sookie, Miss Brianna will have my hide if she catches you waiting on yourself." "Maria, please, I could really use the company and I promise I won't get in the way." "Please follow me." She looked a little worried.  
I popped up out of the chair and followed her through a doorway that lead into a small room lined with cabinets and countertops. I guessed this was were the staff would set the food as it was ready to be served to the main dining room because through the next door was the kitchen. Everywhere you looked it was stainless steel. The counters the cabinet door fronts the appliances. Off to the side in front of a couple of windows was a cutting board style table with six chairs. It looked rather out of place but I assumed it was for the staff. I put on my best smile as we walked into the kitchen and the other three people in the kitchen froze.  
"Miss Stackhouse, this is Elijah our chef. This is Justine our upstairs maid. This is Natasha our downstairs maid." Elijah was a hefty dark skinned man with a clean shaven head and face dressed in traditional chef's clothes. Justine was a younger woman, if I guessed I would say very early 20's, with alabaster skin and auburn hair pulled back in a short ponytail and a little on the short side with bright blue eyes. Natasha had a beautiful tanned complexion with short almost black hair with light green eyes and she was tall and very well proportioned.  
"Please if it won't get you into any trouble, call me Sookie. I convinced Maria to bring me in here I really don't want to cause you any problems and I don't mind tending to myself," again with the bright smile.  
"Sugar, you just let me know what you want and I will be happy to whip it up for you. There aren't many days I get the chance to cook a meal for a human guest. I spend most my time feeding the other staff here. So you just tell old Elijah what you want." Elijah definitely had a real southern draw to his voice. I liked him immediately. "Tell you what, why don't you let me make you up one of my famous omelets, just sit back and relax." "That sounds great. By any chance is their coffee made?" I was feeling much more comfortable.

If Elijah's omelets weren't famous they should have been. Light and fluffy with ham, onion, tomato, cheese and mushrooms with a salsa on top along with a side of delicious mixed fresh fruit. "A girl could get used to eating like this. This is excellent, Elijah," stuffing another bite into my mouth. The rest of the people in the kitchen hadn't gone back to work they all settled down at the table with me for a cup of coffee. "I guess this place is pretty quiet during the day," I asked.  
"The bi, uh, Brianna, keeps us plenty busy. We work in the mornings and take off during the afternoon to come back a little before sundown in case the master needs anything from us." Natasha explained with a accent I loved listening to, Russian I suppose. With that little slip up about Brianna they obviously didn't care much for their boss.  
"So you are on the clock 24/7? Doesn't leave much time for a social life."  
"The King is our social life. Brianna can't stand that we are His," Natasha made a motioning finger between her and Justine, "not that she wants to be but she just thinks us to be low class because of it" she rolled her eyes.  
"So she takes it out on y'all barking orders when Dra… uh, the King is at rest." "That about sums it up. Poor Maria and Elijah kind of just get the bad end of it since they just work here. They aren't involved in the vampire world otherwise," Justine chimed in.  
"Sorry to hear about that y'all. I know what it's like to work somewhere that you get treated different because of who you are."  
"You work?" Natasha was stunned.  
"Actually, I have been a waitress for the same bar and grill for the last five years, well that is up until just a couple of weeks ago." I gave my half smile.  
"So what now? Are you just living it up with that gorgeous blond vampire you came in with last night?" Justine was on pins and needles like I was telling a fairy tale and Natasha elbowed her in the arm with a look of astonishment that she would ask a guest that type of question.  
"Y'all saw us? I didn't see anyone but Mason and Duncan last night. But yeah, I guess I have been the last couple of weeks but when we get back to Louisiana I will start a new job." I didn't want to go into more detail then that, after all I knew Eric trusted Drake but I didn't know who I could trust yet.  
"Sookie," Natasha began speaking, "what are your plans today?"  
"I don't really have any. I thought I would spend the day on the beach or out by the pool and soak up some of this glorious sun. It isn't quite this warm back home yet."  
"Sounds great. Justine and I will join you after we finish up if you don't mind."  
"That's great!" I was actually excited about having some company. "Maria, Elijah, would you like to join us?" "Thanks Sugar, but I think I'll pass on the sun bathing, my tan is already dark enough." He chuckled. "Besides if I let you three fine young things see me in my speedo you'd be leaving those vamps in a heartbeat." He got up and went back to the kitchen chuckling all the way.  
"Maria?"  
"Thanks for the offer but I don't live here like the girls do. I have a family. I work during the day where I am needed and I go home. I only come back in the evenings when the King has guests."  
"I'm sorry Eric and I are taking you away from your family."  
"Don't be. Besides I think we are scheduled to have a few more guests with the big summit coming up." She got up and motioned to the other girls, "scoot let Miss Sookie finish eating so she can get on with her day. You two have some work to do."  
"Bye Sookie, we'll catch up with you outside when we finish." Justine was definitely a happy spirited girl.

I finished up and took my plate to the sink and rinsed it off and Elijah spattered my hands and shooed me away. I grabbed my bag and headed outside. I went down to the beach and there were already several lounge chairs set up. There was a small building I went to take a peak inside. How convenient it was small but there was a little kitchenette, a small bathroom and then a small sitting area and eat at bar. Either King Valk was very considerate of even his human guests or he bought this place as it stands. With a chef and a staff and all the human elements of the home, I wondered if he entertained humans often. I checked the fridge and was glad to see cold drinks and I grabbed a bottle of water and headed outside. I slipped out of my clothes grabbed my book and sunglasses and settled into one of the lounge chairs. I pulled out the romance novel that had the picture of Claude and I on the front cover. I still hadn't gotten the chance to read it yet. I must have only been alone no more then an hour and I heard chattering between Natasha and Justine as they were coming to the beach. I sat up and turned to look at them with a big smile. Natasha was wearing a bright yellow bikini with white piping that looked great with her complexion. Justine was wearing a brown one piece with a long sheer wrap around skirt and a big floppy hat. With her fair complexion I guessed she might burn easily and she grabbed one of the big umbrellas from storage shed that sat beside the house and sunk it in the sand near her chair.

I hated to do it to my new acquaintances after they had been so nice to me but I was here to work so I let my guard slide down as we had some girl talk. "So how long have the two of you worked for the King?"  
"We have actually both been here the same amount of time. We were roommates and we worked at the bar _Night Sins_ and Ethan would come in on occasion and we just seemed to hit it off," Justine was all about sharing and her brain wasn't saying anything different. "One night he brought us back here and Natasha and King Valk hit it off, which really pissed Brianna off, and after a few more visits and a few nights out on the town with the King the King claimed us as his own, we were a package deal. I belong to the King just like Natasha but Ethan and I still have our fun too. The King gives me to him as a reward every once in a while, after all he found us. Once we belonged to the King he would no longer allow us to work at the bar so he arranged for us to work here that way he feels like we earn the money he gives us and we don't just feel like vampire call girls." Yep, Justine is a chatty one, and it's interesting to hear her talk, she has one of those little girl sounding voices. Cute, but I suspect if you listened to her long enough it could get annoying. "How about you Sookie, how long have you belonged to your vampire?" I hated the term owned, but I am going to just go along with it, I have learned in some instances it is just best and the fact that I was Eric's equal, his queen as he calls me and the fact that we are now engaged, well, I am just going to push all that aside and try and gain some with Justine and Natasha, "I have known Eric for a long time, I used to belong to one of his subordinates and when that didn't work out I found my way to Eric." Well that made me sound like a ladder climbing vampire ho! But they both smiled approvingly.

We set quietly for a few minutes and I just browsed through their minds. Justine was literally a lot of air. She was definitely uncomplicated. Natasha had thoughts flashing through her mind from her encounter with Drake last night, ok, too much information there, she was vividly remembering him and broadcasting full detail pictures from her mind. She was almost as lucky as me and I think I began to blush a little so I just took a big drink of water. OK, for now there is nothing dangerous about these girls. They are just along for the vampire ride. "Sookie, what plans do you and your Master have while you are in Florida," Natasha was obviously taking a break from her fond memories. "I am not sure what _Eric _and I will be doing," I hated for people to refer to him as my Master. But I decided to play the devoted human servant at the moment, "I am just along for whatever he has in store I guess." I said innocently. Hum, I can pull this off, Sookie the subservient obedient sex kitten!

We laid out in the sun making idle chit chat and ran in and out of the cabana for snacks and trips to the rest room. The sun was beginning to set and the boys would be up soon. So we gathered up our stuff and headed back to the house. On our way past the pool Natasha pushed Justine in and as she fell she reached out for me but I moved a little too quickly for a human, after all I had just had some of Eric's blood. Justine made a huge splash into the pool, "Natasha you witch, help me out!" Natasha bent to pull her out and I couldn't resist I pushed her in. Another big splash, what the hell, I jumped in. We were laughing and splashing and cutting up not paying much attention to the fact that the outside lights and pool lights had automatically come on. Then we heard a deep, "Uh ummm". We all spun around and there were the boys, Eric, Drake and Mason standing watching us. Brianna was standing with her arms crossed tapping her toe with extreme disappointment on her face. Justine and Natasha froze and as much as they could in the pool and bowed to Drake. I almost cracked up! I waded my way down to the end of the pool where Eric stood and reached up with both hands and he lowered and took one of my hands in his and I grabbed it with both of mine and with all the strength I could muster I yanked him in. What a splash and I wrapped my arms around his neck when he resurfaced. Natasha and Justine had fear written all over their faces. Next thing I knew Drake pulled off his t-shirt and jumped in and Ethan followed suit. I had to steal a peek at Brianna and she threw her hands in the air in complete disgust on walked back into the room. The six of us rough housed and horse played and had a great time in the pool for about an hour. Finally, Ethan spoiled the fun, "Master, we need to feed and get ready if your plans are to still go to the club."  
"Yes, you are correct, Natasha, Justine, get dressed you will accompany us to the club tonight." Drake commanded and they scurried out of the pool.  
Eric swooped me up in his arms and climbed out of the pool, he had discarded his wet t-shirt earlier but his jeans had to be at least 10 pounds heavier. He didn't put me down when we got out of the pool. He turned to Drake, "we must go get ready, how long do we have before you are ready to leave, Valk." Eric gave a couple of quick eyebrow wiggles towards Drake and I blushed.  
"Well you are my guests I suppose we will leave when you are ready, but don't take too long Northman."  
I was so happy. This is as close to normal as I could ever imagine getting. Eric bounded up the stairs and into our room, still not putting me down he carried me into the bathroom and put me down in front of the shower. He turned on the water for it to warm and then I was in his arms and his mouth was assaulting mine. I moved my hands in between us and unbuttoned his wet jeans and in one motion had them on the floor, he had neglected putting on boxers when he woke. I stood back and looked at him taking in his well defined muscular body and huge manhood that stood at attention. "Lover, if I didn't know what a lady you were I would swear you had dirty thoughts running through your mind." I just smiled. "I am beginning to think I am about to be eaten alive." He said with mock terror on his face. I pounced he caught me mid air and he reached for my swim suit. I pulled away, "I would prefer you not destroy this Master." His face went blank. "Master?" "Oh yes, Master, that seems to be the role that is expected between us around here, you are my master and I am your subservient little sex kitten."  
"Hum" with an evil smile if I had ever seen one, "careful I could get used to this." He pulled me to him and spun me around and untied every tie on my suit and then not too gently pulled my pony tail down. We stepped in the shower and we were pressed hard against each other kissing and groping. Eric pulled away, "Your Master commands you to wash ever inch of his body." This was a role he was all too willing to play. "As you wish, Master" I gave him a doe eyed look and batted my eye lashes. I wet a wash cloth and lathered it with liquid soap, choosing the most manly one after smelling them all, I reached up to his neck and washed all the way around, I took care of one shoulder moving down his arm then holding it out so I could get the underside making sure to get his arm pit, across his collar bone and the same thing with the other arm. I soaped his chest and took my time around his nipples, yep my bite marks were completely gone, washing down his abdomen and following the dark blond hair that led from his navel to his manhood that was still standing at attention. I turned his back to the water and sat down on the bench in the shower and let the water rinse away the suds I had left on him, he was definitely enjoying this as he leaned his head back against the wall with his eyes closed. I used the wash cloth and moved up and down his shaft to which I got a pleasing moan, then I encased his jewels with my wash cloth sure to give them a thorough cleaning, more pleasurable moans. Leaning forward sure to breathe heavy on his bounty I slid the wash cloth between his legs and reached around rubbing my hand across one side of his perfect ass and took the was cloth in that hand pulling it slowly through in an upward motion so that the wash cloth slid up the crack of his butt. That got a reaction, a growl and his fang shot out. "Easy Master, I'm not done." Then I worked my way up his back after turning him back around and across his broad shoulders. I turned him back around again and kneeled in front of him keeping my face as close to his huge shaft as I could without touching it. I finished washing his legs and feet. I stood slowly running my fingernails up his leg and up his shaft and up his stomach to his shoulder. "Master, please sit so I may wash your hair." He sat facing me his face level with my breasts and I began washing his hair being sure to jiggle my plentiful breasts as much as I could. I was definitely enjoying this teasing process. Then he bit. My hands made fists in his hair and I pulled him into me. He raised me up and lowered me down and with the drawn out excitement of all of my teasing we both reached our peak very quickly. "Shall we switch roles and we do it all again?" He smiled.  
"Keep that in mind for later, we should probably get ready." I kissed him passionately. "Keep that up and we will be delayed longer, I promise," he smiled.  
"You get out and let me get cleaned up," I gently pushed him out of the shower. When I got out I quickly dried my hair and added a few curls to it leaving it down and put on just a little makeup and strolled across the room flaunting my nakedness. I walked into the closet, "what kind of club? Fangtasia dress or fancier?"  
"Lover you look good no matter what you wear, you are wearing my favorite outfit now. But since I would have to kill way too many if you wore that out, Fangtasia."  
I looked through the closet for what to wear and decided I would be Sookie the sex kitten tonight. I went back out to the chest and took out my underthings and walked back to the closet. I pulled out a new black leather mini skirt that fit very tight and slid it up over the black lace boy short style panties. I slipped on a black shimmering halter top with that had a shirt style collar on it and it was cut really low. Luckily on my one and only trip to Victoria's Secret I had picked up a bra that allowed me to wear these types of shirt because I did not like to go out in public without one. I slipped into a pair of three inch black high heeled sandals. I took a look in the mirror hanging in the closet, yep Sookie the vampire slave sex kitten. I walked out of the closet and Eric's mouth fell open. "Lover, I still may have to kill a few people tonight. But if we don't leave this room now we aren't going to leave." He met me half way across the room and took my hand and led me down stairs.

Everyone had gathered in the room at the bottom of the stairs, now I understood what that seating area was for, it was like a waiting room. The girls were sitting on the sofa chatting and Drake and Ethan were in a heavy conversation that halted as soon I stepped from behind Eric and came in full view. I felt Eric begin to tense just a little and I ran my hand up and down his back and by the way the other two vampires were looking at me I was glad I couldn't read their minds, I was really hoping Eric didn't kill anyone over me tonight. But I hadn't put my shields back up yet and I did catch Natasha's thoughts, _damn, I thought I looked hot I wonder what the King would say if I dressed like that, her Master better watch her close and the King better not watch her too close._  
"U wordt vergeven voor laat het zihn" came from the Kings mouth. It didn't sound like the language they were speaking last night. "ik zie waarom u dit voor zich houdt" he said with a grin that showed partially extended fangs.  
"Trek broer terug, is zij mijn," Eric raised a single eyebrow. As we were walking out the door he leaned to my ear, "Lover, I really don't want to kill anyone tonight but you may make that very difficult."  
"What did Drake say?"  
"He said, _you are forgiven for being late _and _I see why you are keeping this one for yourself _and I told him _Back off brother, she is mine. _  
"That's right and I have the ring to prove it." I reached up and gave him a quick kiss. Since Eric and I walked out last I was able to observe the other girls. They looked very pretty. Natasha was wearing a black silk oriental style dress with bronze colored decoration, very nice although her shoes looked as uncomfortable and every bit as high as mine. Justine had on skin tight red corset style top with flowing sleeves and a black fairy skirt and red high heeled pumps. What was it about us women and torturing our feet? Justine took Ethan's arm so obviously she was his date for the evening. When we walked outside I hadn't expected to see three black stretch limos sitting in the drive. At least this would give Eric and I the chance to talk about tonight since we got side tracked in our room getting ready. You never stop to think about getting in and out of the car when you get dressed. The driver opened the door and I sat down on the edge of the seat keeping my knees together and turned inward with my legs, at least we weren't in an SUV. Eric looked at the driver who quickly snapped his head in an upright position, he had been watching to see if he was going to catch a peek of my panties or lack there of if he was lucky I caught him thinking.

We were in the car and the window between us and the driver was already up. "So what is the purpose of tonight," I questioned.  
"_Listen_, as much as you can bare if you don't mind. I will make sure we get on the dance floor and that we make our way around the bar a few times so you can see if you can pick up on anything. The King owns part of this club as I told you before, so we will have a safe and secure place to sit when you need a break and if you _need_ anything else we will manage." He turned to me and kissed me deeply and ran his hand up my skirt and I automatically spread my legs.  
I breathed into his mouth, "don't start what you can't finish." Eric's cell phone rang. "Speak," he was a little frustrated. "she is fine, no we do not, I am positive." He slammed the phone shut.  
"Are you going to tell me what that was about?"  
"It was _Bill_," he actually hissed his name, "he wanted to check on you and see if we needed him to fly out to assist us in any way." Now he wasn't frustrated he was irritated. I rubbed his leg with the hand that had the beautiful engagement ring on it and laid my head on him and he wrapped his arm around me and we rode for a long while in silence while he calmed himself. I was just thinking it was a good thing that conversation happened on the phone or else Bill may have suffered some very serious repercussions. "He only lives as a favor to you. He will never completely let you go. He will always hold on to the fact he was your first love your first partner your first vampire."  
"If it gives him some sort of happiness let him hold onto it, but I am yours. You will be my husband. You will be my last love and that is far more important and a much heavier burden to carry. Everyone has to have a first love, a first time to have sex, a first time for everything, that doesn't always make it the best time." I took his hand in mine and looked deeply into his eyes and then laid my head back on him.


	9. Chapter 24

Chapter 24  
We walked into the bar as the King told the vampire at the door that we were his guests. She was dressed in tight black leather pants and shirt with spike boots and dramatic makeup. I wondered if the bar here required vampires in the area to put in their time in the bar like Fangtasia. We walked to the far side of the bar and there was a roped off area that consisted of two large half circle booths and we were all seated in there. We were all able to fit in one booth easily. Ethan and Justine slid in and I slid in next to Justine Eric next to me on the outside, Natasha scooted in next to Ethan and Drake across from Eric. We no sooner got seated and a human waitress was at the table, "How may I serve you tonight Master," and I believed this waitress wasn't just talking about the table order.  
"Emma, these are my guests tonight, be sure they receive anything they ask for."  
"Yes Master," with a bow from Emma. "May I bring you anything now."  
"Cape Cods for the ladies and True Bloods, A positive for us," then the King dismissed her with the wave of his hand. I didn't know what I was about to drink and I didn't like being ordered for without being consulted. Eric placed his hand on my thigh and gave a little squeeze. I put my hand on top of his leg and squeezed back. I could do this. I needed to fit in with the other girls. What seemed like record time came the waitress with the round of drinks. I took a sip of the red drink in front of me, hey this was pretty good, I would have to ask Eric what I was drinking.  
"King, if you don't mind I would like to dance with Sookie, if you will pardon us," Eric was playing his role as humble guest too. Drake nodded and Eric took my hand and led me out onto the floor. On the way to the dance floor I was eyed by several vampires, both men and women and I was glad I couldn't hear their thoughts. Eric actually snarled at one of them. Once we were on the dance floor and I was wrapped in Eric's arms and he was leading me around. I was able to let my guards down and listen. I focused first on the people on the dance floor. As usual there were lots of different thoughts about lots of different sex acts and I picked up on one that vividly involved Eric and it made me a little distracted dare I say jealous. Eric felt something and looked down at me and I just shook my head no. Another that involved me, Eric and some nasty looking fang banger and I actually cut him a look that sent shivers down him and then he disappeared off in the crowd. I was beginning to think this was pointless, and I heard from somewhere just off the dance floor in a woman's voice _I wonder who the new dead meat is with the blond tramp that came in with the King. I wonder if he is here to take over interest in the bar. It would almost be a pity to stake such a hunk. _I froze and Eric almost tripped over me. I took his hand leading him off the floor in what I had hoped was the right direction. I hurried through the crowd listening for the voice. _Where the hell are they off to in such a hurry_, that was the voice and I stopped and turned to Eric,he bent and kissed me and breathed into my mouth, "relax Lover, I have you, just concentrate and we can go from there." We stood in each other's arms and I let Eric cover my face shielding me so that I could focus. _I will have to let the boss know that there is a new player in town. I need to focus, but he is just so good looking, I believe he is a better specimen then the King himself. _I took Eric by the hands and led him a little deeper into the bar looking for the voice. I had a big smile planted on my face trying to look like I had something in mind that had to do with the big vampire I was pulling behind me. I stopped, nothing, where did she go? I turned back to Eric and he pulled me into him again, I searched out even further. Nothing. We wondered back to a corner so I could tell Eric what I had heard. "Let's go back to the table and I will take Drake and Ethan aside and let them know. You can go to the table and relax a little. I know concentrating so hard tires you, Lover." He led me back to the table and sat me down. "King, could I have a word with you and Mason for a moment, in private?" The men stood up and walked off to a hallway at the back of the bar. "What was that about," Justine questioned. "Who knows when it comes to these boys and their business," I said with a strained smile on my face and drank half of my drink. I didn't put my shields back up, I didn't want to miss anything. After several minutes and the rest of my drink I didn't hear anything other than Natasha. She was thinking about the little roll in the hay she and Drake had before we left and about how she felt like he fed a little too much from her tonight, she was feeling a little weak. Justine was just singing to herself in her head along with what was playing in the club. Wow, I don't think I had ever met a real actual airhead. The guys came back and escorted us all out to the dance floor. I put my shields up and down for the rest of the night as we danced and chit chatted. But I never heard the voice again.


	10. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Despite my working we still managed to have a good time at the club. We danced, we talked and the girls and I sang along with the music, no I can't sing but it was fun. We left a bit before the club closed and once we were back in the limo I was ready for my mind to have piece and quiet. That is defiantly a big bonus of having a vampire for a boyfriend. "Eric, I am worried that the voice I heard was taking such and interest in you. I couldn't bare to loose you now that we have finally found each other and are making plans for our lives." I was on the verge of tears.  
Eric took me in his arms, "I am not going anywhere. We will do what we can to help with these murders and if it becomes too dangerous for you we will leave."  
"I am not worried about myself, it is you that they are talking about staking."  
"Lover, everything will be fine. We will go home together and you can start planning our party and then our wedding." He squeezed and kissed the top of my head. I had drifted off to sleep in the security of my vampires arms and the next thing I knew I awoke to him carrying me back into the house and up the stairs and I didn't protest. I also didn't protest when he undressed me and deposited me between the bedding in just my lacey panties. He undressed himself and crawled in next to me and wrapped his strong arms around me and I drifted back off to sleep.

When I woke the next day I was wrapped in Eric's arms and he was wearing pajama pants so he must have gotten back up after I fell back to sleep. I am sure he and Drake had things to talk about. I crawled out of the huge comfortable bed and pulled the cover back up over Eric. I went into the bathroom and found a note taped to the mirror. _Lover, Drake and I spoke last night after you fell to sleep, we are at a loss of what direction to send you on during the day to search for clues. Enjoy your day, Drake has instructed Brianna to allow Natasha and Justine to spend the day with you and for you to do as you please. I slid a credit card inside your purse and some cash, enjoy yourself._ _We will go to the preliminary summit meetings tonight, please dress conservatively no need to wear one of your beautiful gowns tonight. With Love, E_  
I showered got dressed and went downstairs to grab a bite to eat. I wondered through the house admiring the beauty. I decided before getting a bite that I would very much like to take a closer look at the library from the other night. If I overstepped my bounds by doing so, well, I could just apologize later. I found the room with ease and I was just about to push the door open and I heard a voice. _I think he is here only to visit. Seems he and the King have a history but I do not believe him to be relocating. No the King hasn't given me any details on the summit I have not been involved in putting it together. He has not requested my presence. Yes, I do believe his two whores are going with him and I am sure the other vampires slut will be with him they are never apart they even sleep in a bed together. I should go, not that either of the two bimbos would find me in the library. I don't think they have ever read a complete book in their lives but Maria may wonder in. _Thankful for the vampire blood I moved faster then a human should and I sprinted back down the hall and back up a few stairs. I stopped for just a second and then turned to casually walk back down the stairs and Brianna almost bumped into me. "Can I help you with anything today Miss Stackhouse." This didn't sound like the voice I had just heard. So I let down my shield to listen. _Was the question too hard for you blondie._ "Excuse me" I snapped with a bit of attitude. "Is there anything you need from me today?" _Snap to it sweetie… too much blood loss last night got your brain a little sluggish. _I just looked at her again for another minute. "No thanks" trying to control my anger and I just walked on past her. I knew for sure I needed to get closer to her today. So I was really sure I could trust Natasha and Justine, after the comment on the phone I was pretty sure Maria was trustworthy that left Brianna, who was definitely up to something but with just what I overheard I couldn't say she was involved in anything other than a phone conversation. She definitely didn't like Natasha or Justine and you can obviously add me to that list. That leaves Elijah and Duncan or at least that is all the staff I have met. I wondered into the kitchen and was greeted with "Good Morning Sugar! What'll it be this morning? How about waffles or crepes or pancakes ? Coffee? Juice?" Elijah seemed really excited to have someone else to cook for. "Waffles sound great if it's not to much trouble" I gave him a genuine smile. "Yes, I would love some coffee." The girls came strolling in just in time to join me for breakfast. I hoped they liked waffles since they were obviously eating whatever Elijah cooked.  
"Good morning Sookie, how did you sleep?" Justine beamed.  
"Good morning, I slept fine, thank you."  
"We understand that we have you to thank for having a day off, not that we work hard anyways." Natasha smiled. "So what would you like to do today? Have you ever been to Florida before?"  
"I have never been to Florida before. I have no idea what I want to do. I have no idea what there is to do. I just know that we should be back in time to get ready for tonight before the guys wake up. Oh, wait, I know what I don't want to do. I know that Florida has those swamp tours with alligators and stuff, I will pass on that, I have enough of that back home." That got a little giggle from everyone. "Where's Maria at today, I haven't seen her."  
"I haven't seen her either and Brianna didn't say anything about her when she came bustling through here earlier," Elijah sat waffles in front of us with fresh strawberries cut on top and a big pitcher of maple syrup.  
"Do you want to get wet or stay dry? We could go jet ski or we could scuba or snorkel or hey we could go have a day at the spa! Oh, please pick the spa please please please."  
"Justine, how about we go to the spa today." How could I refuse her after all that, "That is if it's cool with Natasha too."  
"Sure, we can make a day of it, massage, facial, manicure, pedicure – the works. I'll call and set it up" she whipped out her cell and hit speed dial. We ate and then gathered our purses and I brushed my teeth and gave Eric a little peck on the cheek then met the girls in the room at the bottom of the stairs. "Sookie, we can drive and we don't mind, but if you ask the limo will take us where ever we want to go. Do you mind?" Natasha looked almost embarrassed. "Brianna is in the office off the sun room last I saw her." We must have looked like the three musketeers walking into that office. "Brianna," I was still pissed from the insults running through her brain earlier so I was quite blunt, "we will require the use of the limo for the day. Please have it brought around immediately as we are ready now." If looks could kill I would already be cold in the ground. "As you wish." Brianna picked up the phone and ordered the car around.  
"Sookie, she has to hate you just as much as she does us. Maybe more because we don't get to give her orders, she orders us around." Justine had a horrified look on her face. We climbed into the back of the limo and Natasha told the driver where we were going, I took the opportunity to see if I could get any info on Brianna. I didn't think she was going to let me hang out with her at any point so I thought I would just try a little investigative work. "What is the deal with Brianna? If she hates vampires why does she work for them? Or is she envious because you are His and she is just his secretary?"  
"Brianna was working for the King when we moved in. She has been with him for about six months and us only four. From the beginning she let us know right up front that she was our boss when the King wasn't around and that we were trash as far as she was concerned. She treats Elijah like dirt and Maria even worse. She is just mean and rude. I thought it might have just been me thinking that she hated vampires and what kind of credentials did she come with and who introduced her to Master Valk and/or Ethan to have her hired as the Kings daytime assistant. If she heard you call her a secretary she would blow a gasket." Natasha was definitely ready to gossip about Brianna.  
"I overheard she isn't going tonight, but the two of you are, right?"  
I received a yes and an evil smile for both questions from Natasha. "You overheard?"  
"Yes, I overheard, some may call it eavesdropping but it wasn't intentional at first" "What else did you overhear?" Justine questioned.  
"Someone was asking about Eric and the summit and she made rude references to the three of us. But that's about it."  
"Did she call us sluts, whores, skanks, bitches, tramps or all of the above?" Natasha said with a giggle.  
"Oh, you know how she talks about you? Do you tell the King? Eric would never put up with that." OK maybe I should have left the part about Eric off but I was becoming very comfortable with these two.  
"No, we don't tell him. It really hurt Justine at first and really just pissed me off, but we have gotten used to it and realize that we really have it pretty good here. We have plenty of money, our days are free except for a few busy chores, we live in an awesome house that we don't have to pay for, our sex lives are beyond great and we always have a date. Brianna doesn't live at the mansion she works there. If you ask me she should offer herself to the King or even Mason or one of the other vamps that come in and out of there and maybe she would lighten up a little. Her twin sister is much more relaxed then she is."  
"Twin sister?"  
"Yep, they are almost identical. Her sister seems more of a free spirit though. But I don't think you would ever see Brittany with her hair in a bun and in one of those business suits." Justine almost whispered the last part. You just had to love her even though she is a bit of an airhead. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. That feeling that I had seen Brianna before. The pretty dark haired girl on the plane, what in the world would Brittany have been doing in Shreveport. I must have gone completely pale because Justine grabbed my shoulders, "Sookie, you ok?"  
"Yes, I am, but I think I saw Brittany on the plane when Eric and I were coming to Florida. When I met Brianna I thought she looked familiar, why would she be in Louisiana?" We had reached the spa. The driver opened the door and I hadn't realized until now but he was a shape shifter. I guess I had let my guards slide down without realizing in the car. I didn't remember seeing this driver before. Vampires and Weres don't usually work together. _Great, nothing is ever easy_, I thought to myself.  
Natasha had Justine go check us in, "Are you sure Sookie? Are you sure about what you saw?"  
"I am positive, Natasha. What in the world would she be doing there?" Justine walked back up, "Please let's just keep this between us for now. I don't want to get anyone in trouble or put their life in danger so please don't tell the King or Ethan. I will talk to Eric tonight and see if he remembers seeing the woman on the plane. I don't know that he even noticed Brianna yesterday." They both agreed and we were called into begin our day at the spa. We undressed and put on robes and put our hair up in towel wraps and went out and our naked bodies were emerged in mud. I had heard of this but I never actually thought I would pay to have someone sit me in a mud bath. We showered and then enjoyed a 30 minute massage, a facial, manicure (no fake nails for me I learned my lesson on that in Jackson) and finally a pedicure. I had my nails done in a French manicure and pedicure. We had our hair done for the special occasion tonight. I was planning to wear my new black with pink pin stripe suit and look very conservative as Eric asked so I had them fix my hair in a french braid. Natasha had ringlets fixed all through her short hair. Justine had hers swept up into an updo with twirling tendrils hanging down. We received our bill and I thought I was going to faint, I hadn't stopped to consider how much it was going to cost, $1500, but I guess I couldn't complain, I should have asked before hand. I pulled the credit card out of my purse without looking at it, I hoped they wouldn't give me a hard time since Eric's name was on it. "Thank you Miss Stackhouse, here's your card back." I glanced at the card, it had my name on it. Eric got me a Fangtasia business credit card. I smile to myself not quite sure how I felt about that or how he was going to feel with me spending $1500 at the spa on his business account. While enjoying the day I tried to replay the plane ride in my mind and the conversation I had overheard this morning and what was up with the were driver. I just hoped Eric and I had time to talk before we had to go to the summit. We went out to lunch or possibly an early dinner since it was late afternoon and although we all agreed Italian sounded good because it had been so long since any of us had eaten, but since garlic was pretty much null in our diet, we settled on a deli with an ocean view. After our meal we meandered through the shops and I actually picked up a few souvenirs for Jason, Tara and JB. I started to pick up something for Pam but I resisted the urge. The three of us chatted like we were old friends. I definitely enjoyed the company and our common interests. These girls were so much more like me then the fang bangers I ran into back home. "Girls, are we _fang bangers_?" The word was like poison coming out of my mouth. Natasha laughed out loud, "Sookie, you crack me up. Do you care what other people think? Other people don't understand. You my dear are definitely not a fang banger. You are one of the lucky one's. I don't know how you did it, but that big, blonde, handsome vampire loves you the way any human man loves a human woman, or more since everything with the vampires is so extreme. I hadn't asked you about it, but I noticed that beautiful ring you are wearing, you don't just get a ring like that for being any day to day fang banger. On the other hand, I don't think I am a fang banger, I am not out to get bitten by just any vampire and passed around. I have a claim on me. I belong to the King. He cares for me no more than what most people would care for their pets but I am young and I am enjoying my life. He will either turn me or dismiss me some day." "You want him to turn you?" I gasped.  
"I don't know. I think that has to be the ultimate goal for those of us who hang out with vampires, don't you want to be turned?"  
"No, I don't. Maybe some day I will change my mind and the thought that I will grow older and Eric won't definitely bothers me, but I am not ready to give up the sun just yet. What about you Justine?"  
"Oh yes, I definitely want to be turned. I don't want to grow old and I don't care much for the sun anyway. I desire the power they have, seems to me like the only thing I would miss were my favorite foods and drinks but they don't seem to mind too much." She was beaming again as she talked. She is so animated.  
"Sookie, you want to tell us about that ring on your finger?" Natasha raised her eyebrow. "It was a gift from Eric."  
"Really, like we hadn't already figured that out. There has to be more behind it than that."  
"Please don't think I am being rude, but right now the meaning of the ring is private between Eric and I." I looked down at the ring and had so much joy in my heart.  
"Honey, your private life is yours. But if you ever want to share we are here to listen. I really hope that we can stay in contact once you go home. We really like you, Sookie."  
"Thanks, I hope the same thing. I really like y'all too. You have been so nice and welcoming and it's so nice to not be judged because of who my boyfriend is."  
"Boyfriend? Did you say boyfriend? Eric is not your Master? He is your boyfriend?" Justine was beside herself.  
"Uh, yeah, he is. He is not my Master. Sorry I didn't let y'all in on that sooner, I just didn't want to" and Natasha cut me off "flaunt it" she said with that big grin. I just smiled back. Hey at least I hadn't slipped and called him my fiancé but I hadn't quite gotten used to that myself yet.


	11. Chapter 26

Chapter 26  
When we got back to the mansion we all scurried up the stairs to get ready for the night ahead of us. It was getting late but it shouldn't take any of us very long since we already had our hair done and we were squeaky clean and exfoliated from our spa treatment. I quickly put on a conservative amount of make up and some pink lip gloss. I grabbed a sexy pink bra and panties as I passed by the chest to replace the comfortable cotton one's I had worn during the day. I changed my underthings and put on the pink camisole that matched the pin stripes on my suit and slid the skirt on and reached back to zip my skirt and almost jumped out of my skins to feel another pair of hands. Eric didn't manage to sneak up on me very often because of the bond but it happened every once in a while. I turned around and play slapped him on the arm, "You scared me dang it! Since you're here, could you finish zipping my skirt?" Then the zipper went down. "No zip it up not down. You said I was to be ready when you got up because we wouldn't have much time. Besides I don't want to mess my hair up."  
"Hum, your hair won't be an issue and we can make it quick." There was that smile that made my knees weak.  
"You are never quick. Not that I am complaining. But you are the one that told me to be ready – so go shower and I will finish getting dressed and we can talk about my day while you get ready."  
"You are right. We will need to leave soon. Tell me about your day Lover" he stepped into the shower.  
I told him about Brianna's conversation I heard this morning. Then I told him about her twin. He actually stuck his head out of the shower. "You did see her," I said.  
"I only glanced at the woman once yesterday as we descended the stairs I was much more interested in finding you and then when I saw you in that swim suite I didn't want to see anything else. The sight of her haunted me, I had felt I had seen her before. Yes, on the plane. How did you come by this information?"  
"Natasha and Justine, Brianna hates them. Eric, I trust them but I did not tell them why we were here. Another thing, our driver today was a shifter. I am really worried about you I have overheard this second conversation talking about you"  
"Lover, I will be fine. Now we must decide if we talk to Drake about this now or when you have more information. What else did you do today?"  
"I do need to talk to you about what I did today." I looked at the floor. He tilted his head down and looked down his nose at me with eyebrows raised. "I went to a spa today. I had a mud bath, massage, facial, manicure, pedicure and got my hair done."  
"You look and smell fantastic, what is it that you need to tell me?"  
"I went along with Natasha and Justine and I didn't even think to ask how much it cost. It was rather expensive. By the way, thank you for the credit card, are you sure about that?"  
"Sookie, finish," he was almost ready by now.  
"It cost $1500, I promise I will pay every penny of it."  
"Did you enjoy yourself?"  
"Then Lover, it was worth every penny. We can expense it out for entertainment. You need to have a business credit card you are a manager at the club now. Just be sure to keep the receipt." He slid his jacket on and gave me a hug. He looked so good. He was wearing a black suit with a dark blue silk button down shirt. I love it when he wears blue.  
"You look beautiful." I smiled at him, "good enough to eat. We better go before we both end up undressed."  
"Lover you are right. We better go now, but later we will pick this conversation back up."  
"Are you going to talk to Drake?"  
"Would you mind riding to the summit with the other women and I can ride with Drake and Ethan and we can talk. I will question him about Brianna and then decide what to tell him."  
"That's fine. I don't mind. It will at least keep us from attacking each other in the limo." Wow I was being really forward tonight. Where was this coming from.

The guys climbed into their limo and us girls into ours the third limo followed. I guess there was no questioning you were told to do a job and you do it and it didn't matter that your limo was empty. Besides, we may all ride back separately to the mansion. None of the drivers were the one that drove us earlier today all of these drivers were definitely human. Natasha was looking very elegant in a shimmering green slip dress that matched her eyes with a sheer wrap and strappy shoes to match. Justine was a vision dressed all in white lace, a white lace long skirt with a high slit up one side and a very fitted matching jacket with the a lace camisole peaking out behind with matching white pumps covered in lace material. I almost felt like a librarian next to their elegant clothes, but I looked good too, just more conservative.

I was a little surprised to see that we were at the convention center instead of a hotel that catered to vampires. The driver opened the door and Drake stood reached out to take Natasha's hand, then Ethan for Justine and then my beautiful vampire stood to take my hand, as I exited he bent and said "we saved the best for last", I think I actually blushed a little. As we entered the convention center everyone stopped to bow to the King, this still just cracks me up. We entered into a large room set up like any other conference room you can imagine, there was a table facing the crowd then there was a "throne" sitting up higher behind the table so that the King could sit above all. There was a small section off to the side of the stage with a cluster of chairs, Eric myself and the girls were escorted over there. The chairs were set in an arch to where we could see the stage and the crowd. Eric took the inner most chair with me next to him and then the other girls next to me. This would work since I could see the audience without forcing myself to turn and see them so I could scan without looking obvious. Everyone filed in and there was a low rumble of talk and then the panel walked in and near silence and then the King took the stage and the only noise you heard was everyone standing at once. As he stepped up onto his throne everyone bowed and once he was seated everyone took their seats. Ethan Mason sat center table. There was a very serious looking woman with long dark hair that was an extreme contrast to her extremely pale skin. She looked to have been maybe 40 when she was turned sitting to one side of him and to his other side a slightly heavy balding grey haired man that could have easily been 50 when he was turned. Ethan actually looked like he was young enough to have been their child. Not that he looked anything like them, it was just the way I pictured the setting. Ethan stood and called the meeting to order. He outlined the events over the next several days. There were to be a few elections to take place and the announcements of the results. There were to be various business meetings. There would be social times and entertainment. The events would conclude with a ball and during that event the announcements of the elections would be made. There would be a special meeting of only invited vampires of the business community with their guests. This would be the meeting to talk about the murders and that was going to be held tomorrow night. Eric and I would of course be at this meeting. The meeting tonight seemed to drag on with minutes from the last meeting, announcements and acknowledgements. I was straining to stay focused since I was so incredibly bored. There were quite a few humans in the room and I scanned and rescanned the room but the only thing I was picking up from many was the same boredom I was feeling. Of course there was the abnormal amount of sex thoughts that I quickly scanned past. I encounter a few questions on some minds about Eric and I and why we were sitting here separate from everyone else. Ethan sat down and the King stood, he motioned toward Eric and Eric stood. This is my special guest, many of you are acquainted with Eric Northman already, please extend him and his companion every courtesy, they will be attending our functions at this summit. Now please join us in the ball room for music, drink and conversation. Drake stepped down from his throne and disappeared out the side door. The room emptied but Eric and I did not join the masses. "Did you hear anything of use during the meeting, Lover?"  
"No, nothing of use, thoughts of boredom, sex and normal day to day things although several people were wondering about you and I."  
"Maybe you will pick something up while everyone is being more casual." We joined everyone in the next room and Eric snagged a warm bottle of True Blood as we walked into the room and then grabbed me a glass of champagne. We made our way through the crowd and Eric spoke with many people introducing me to all of them _This is Sookie Stackhouse, my companion._ I smiled and bowed and kept my mind focused on the human brains. The girls came and found me after about an hour and asked if I would like to go powder my nose with them, I could definitely use the break. We went in and all took care of necessities and freshened our makeup, checked our hair, all the normal girl stuff. There was a sitting area outside the main area of the bathroom so we decided to get off our feet for a few minutes and just chill out. We chatted about nothing important and then we decided we better get back. I walked out first and really wasn't paying attention and ran smack into what felt like a brick wall. I started to give my apologies and when I looked up into the face of the person I stopped speaking.  
"Babe, what are you doing in Florida? Sorry about running you over. How have you been?" Quinn had that beautiful smile on his face and he hadn't let go of me yet from catching me to keep me from falling. I hadn't even thought about bumping into him here, but it made sense since he was partners in the premier sup event planning company. And his region was the southern states.  
"Eric and I are just here on a little get away visiting King Valk." I put my left hand on his chest and gave a little push back and he reached up and grabbed my hand in his.  
"So you two are together, really together?" he had a disapproving look on his face. I looked back at Natasha and Justine, "I'm fine, I will be back into the gathering in just a few minutes, Quinn and I are old… _friends_." They both smiled at me and went on. "Quinn, yes, Eric and I are definitely together. I live with him in Shreveport now and when we get back I will be working at Fangtasia."  
"Oh Babe, you let him turn you into one of those chicks slinging drinks at his club, why would you do that?" I swear I saw pity in his beautiful purple eyes.  
That made me upset, I started pulling my hand away but he held on, "Actually, I am going to be managing the human staff. Quinn, I am happy, Eric and I are happy, we are in love." Just then I heard a loud growl and Eric was beside me.  
"Take your paws off of her Tiger." Eric was snarling and Quinn snarled back. I began to gently pull my hand away as to not move to fast to cause either one of the circling beasts to attack. Just then Quinn felt my ring slide through his fingers and grabbed hold, Eric tensed even more. Quinn took his eyes off of Eric and moved them down to the ring. He gave an audible hmmph, "Is this what it looks like Babe?" I glanced up at Eric because we had decided not to make our engagement public yet. Eric grabbed my hand from Quinn and moved up very close to him, "Sookie is mine. She is mine in every way. She will always be mine. Soon we will make this official and all will know. Those of you in her past have lost her forever. She has chosen. If you wish to stay alive Tiger and keep your business thriving I suggest you keep your paws off of her and keep your distance from her." Quinn is tall but Eric is taller by at least three inches so it gives him the advantage of looking down at Quinn. He was angry and Quinn was not backing down. I stepped between them, not necessarily the safest place to be, "Ok Ok, this is enough. Eric is right, there is nothing to fight about, I have chosen, I chose Eric. Quinn you made your own choices a long time ago, now I have made mine. I am happy and not that I owe you any type of explanation, but for the first time I have someone willing to put me first and actually make plans for the future."  
"Babe," Eric interrupted with a low fierce growl and Quinn just cut his eyes at him and continued, "I am glad you are happy, I think you are making a huge mistake, and I can't believe you are planning to marry him, what do you think he is going to do with you when you get older, he certainly won't be growing older with you. But whatever, like you said you made your choice," he tossed his hands up and turned and walked off.  
Eric grabbed me and began feverishly kissing me. I could barely catch my breath. His hands began wondering. "Eric we can't do this here." I knew confrontation was a major sexual stimulus for all supes including vampires. He pushed the ladies room door open and wrapped his arms around my waist and carried me inside into the sitting room area. I scanned the bathroom with my mind and it was empty and Eric locked the door. Kissing, fondling, groping our hands and mouths were moving furiously like we couldn't consume each other fast enough. He turned my back to him and was kissing my neck and unbuttoning my jacket and he slid it off and he began massaging my breasts and pinching my nipples and I grinded back into him. He slid one hand down and pulled my skirt up and pushed my panties down, at least he didn't tear them off. He bent me over the couch and entered me from behind. One of his hands on my shoulder and one around my waist and he was relentless pounding so hard I didn't know if I was going to be able to stay on my feet. I came with loud screams and he continued pounding. He was claiming his territory over and over. He stopped and withdrew just long enough to spin me around an pick me up and push my back against the wall. His hands slid my cami up and he bit hard and as he began sucking I came again and he released my breast with a beastly growl he came. I just held on for a couple of minutes as I wasn't sure my legs would hold my weight after such a work out. He kissed me tenderly and ran his hand down my face tenderly, "I didn't hurt you did I?" I just smiled at him and shook my head no. "I couldn't stand the sight of him touching you. I wanted to rip him to pieces right then and there." He had a low growl under his voice.  
"Eric, you don't have to worry, I love you and I'm with you and I'm not going anywhere." I mimicked him by running my hand gently down the side of his face. "You realize that Quinn knows we are engaged, right? Are you worried about this?"  
"I am not worried. Soon everyone will know. I think we can be sure that he won't bother you anymore during our trip." Eric zipped his pants and help me put my jacket on. "We should get back to the gathering, it will be ending soon. Have you heard anything yet?" I just shook my head no as I righted my clothes. "I told you before we left we could enjoy ourselves and I would not mess up your hair," a smug grin on his face.

We walked back in and I notice that the room had already started to clear out. Ethan came up to Eric and took him to go speak with someone and soon after Natasha and Justine were at my side, "Sookie, who was that in the hall? He was absolutely gorgeous. You seem to surround yourself by gorgeous men. When we came back in Eric was worried when you weren't with us and we told him you had ran into a friend in the hall and he asked who and we told him you said his name was Quinn and he was out the door in a blur."  
"Well, Quinn is my ex-boyfriend. He and Eric don't like each other at all. Quinn's company hosts these special events. There is just some unpleasant history between us all."  
"Too bad," Justine smiled, "I wouldn't have minded being introduced to him." "Justine, you belong to the King just like I do, don't forget that!" Natasha scolded her. "So what happened out there? You and Eric were out there a while." I was learning Natasha, full of questions.  
"They had words. There was growling and snarling neither of them willing to back down. I wedged between them and basically told Quinn to go away. Then Eric and I had … uh… we had a discussion about it." I think I blushed a little.  
"By the look on your face I think you had multiple discussions." Natasha was grinning from ear to ear and Justine just looked confused. I caught a glimpse of Eric and he motioned for me to join him and the girls just followed. It was time to go and I was definitely ready.

Eric and I climbed into the limo alone. I was thankful for that. I needed to let my mind rest. "Lover, I am sorry for tonight," that was the second time he apologized for the same thing in one night, "I hope now that he knows you have given yourself to me and I to you that he will not be a problem in the future."  
"Eric, I was never in love with Quinn. We never had a chance to let our relationship get that far."  
"But you were with him, he has had you."  
"Only once. Now I am with you and only you and I will never betray you. I am not that type of person. Even when I knew Bill was cheating on me and had left me our relationship was not resolved and I could not bring myself to be with you or Alcide even out of revenge. You have promised me that you would not feed from anyone else I trust you and I believe you, I certainly can not be jealous over all the others you have fed from or had sex with over the last 1000 years or I wouldn't have time for anything else. Quinn is just part of my history and we are bound to run into him from time to time with his business dealings. There is nothing between us at least not for me. You and I will also have to learn to cope and deal with Bill. He knows I am with you but the engagement announcement will be very hard on him. I am not in love with Bill. I will not lie to you and tell you that I don't care about him. On some level I will always care about Bill's welfare and his feelings and it has taken me a long time to accept that myself after what he has put me through. But now the only thing I am focused on is our future, our engagement announcement and our wedding. Oh, and something a little more immediate, I plan to proclaim my love for you multiple times tonight." With that I initiated a very heated make out session that lasted until the car stopped in front of the mansion. We went inside and had to do play the polite guest and have a night cap and chat about the nights events with our host and his entourage all the while my mind was focused on seeing my vampire out of that suit and our bodies entwined together. At one point my thoughts were so focused on the events to come Eric bent to my ear when the King stopped to take a phone call, "Lover if you don't calm yourself and your thoughts I am not going to be able to contain myself and I will have to begin to ravage your beautiful body right here in front of everyone." At this point I don't think I would stop him, the blood bond definitely helped escalate the physical desires between us. Finally I think Drake must of picked up on something. He looked at Eric then to me then back to Eric and then back to me, "I have some business to attend to that would only bore you, so if you will please excuse me," but the grin on his face didn't say business. Eric stood and took my hand and we said our good nights to everyone and calmly walked out of the room. Our pace seemed to quicken the closer we got to the stairs and then Eric swooped me up and with vampire speed we were up the stairs and entering our room. He sat me down beside the bed and I clicked on the little radio on the alarm clock and tuned it to something with a beat. We kissed and I took his jacket off, then I slowly untucked his shirt and then slowly unbuttoned it and slid it off his broad shoulders and let it fall to the floor. I leaned in and kissed his bare chest as I unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. I began kissing my way down his rock hard stomach as I slid his pants down slipping my thumbs in the top of his boxers to pull them down at the same time and he slid out of his shoes. I stopped kissing just below his navel and began kissing around him toward his back. He finished stepping out of his pants and quickly raised each leg just high enough for him to reach and take his socks off. I had each hand planted and squeezing each cheek on his perfect ass and began kissing my way up his back. I turned him to face me and we shared a very passionate kiss and he raised his hands to unbutton my jacket and I stopped him. I pushed him gently back toward the bed until he was sitting and I backed up away from the bed several steps. He moved to lay on his side propped up on his arm and his other hand rubbing his own body. I had to refocus myself after that sight. I slowly took my hair down out of the braid and I began moving to the music on the radio. I slowly unbuttoned my own jacket and continued to dance and remove my clothing very slowly until I was standing in only my pink lace bra and panties. I moved toward the end of the bed and using the post of the huge four poster bed began a suggestive pole dance for the man I loved and he watched me dance and run my hands over my body then I removed my bra and panties during my little show and I could feel Eric desire continue to increase through our bond. He was stroking himself as I moved over to him, "Let me do that for you" I smiled. I took his massive shaft in my hands and continued the motions for him and I received a low grumble from deep within him and he released my name from his throat, I could never imagine my own name sounding so sexy. He moved into a sitting position with his legs hanging over the edge of the bed and with the height of the bed it wasn't much for me to bend and take him into my mouth. The effort was fitting much of him into my mouth. His hands made fists clenching the comforter on the bed and moans of pleasure escaped him. After I was sure I had satisfactorily service him with my mouth I raised up to kiss him. He lifted me onto the bed and he stood me at the head of the bed as he remained seated in front of me, "Spread your legs Lover," I reached up and grabbed the canopy railing and propped my foot on the headboard and he moved in between my legs. I was already dripping wet and his fingers slid into me with ease. His rigid tongue began working its magic and I leaned my head back in sheer pleasure and let my own moans escape. I quickly came for the first time but he remained working his tongue into me until he consumed all the evidence of this. The he began kissing his way up and out my thigh of my propped up leg then he bit, I didn't feel the fangs go in only the pleasure within him of taking in my blood. He finished and licked the wound and continued to kiss his way up stopping to give each of my breasts the attention he felt they deserved. Kissing his way up my neck and to my mouth rising to his own feet we were both standing on the bed. He slid his one leg under my leg I had propped on the headboard and entered me. Bending at the knees and entering again and again nearly lifting me off my feet. We were both moaning and calling each others names and he would talk to me in his native language. "Oh my God, yes yes, Ohhh," and I came for a second time. He picked me up without exiting me, I wrapped my legs around his waste and he fell on top of me on the bed. We were joined at the mouth as well as below and I felt another orgasm coming on and it was so intense that as I moaned into Eric's mouth I bit and I sucked the blood oozing from his tongue. With that he moaned back into my mouth slamming harder and harder into me until he reached his peak and he withdrew from my mouth leaning his head back and letting out a animalistic roar then collapsed on the bed next to me and I just looked over at him and smiled. "You are happy?"  
"Oh, I am happy, after all that, any woman that wouldn't be happy would have some definite issues."  
"You are becoming much bolder and more adventurous, this pleases me too."  
"Eric," I ran my hand down his chest, "with you I know you accept me for any way I want to be, you love me for who I am and don't want to change me, this allows me to be more uninhibited. I act on the emotions I feel or I feel from you. I must say that I am beginning to surprise myself a little. I never imagined myself being in control being allowed to be the initiator when making love."  
"Sookie, my darling, I want you to be whatever you want to be, I want you to want to enjoy yourself and never be afraid to try anything," he stroked my face, "I have walked the earth a long time, I have done almost anything you can imagine. The art of successful love making is a joint effort. For one or the other to always be in control will only end up being satisfying for that person. I know your experience is limited and I am honored to be the one to help you find yourself and we will continue to grow and experiment together, I am willing to try anything that doesn't make me meet my final death." I expected him to laugh or smile about the last statement but his sentiment was serious and heartfelt. I got up and went to the bathroom and then crawled back into the big bed and snuggled into my vampire and we drifted off to sleep.


	12. Chapter 27

Chapter 27  
Again I woke up not in Eric's arms. I immediately got up to look for a note. Yep, a note same place as yesterday. _Lover, Drake did not want to talk in front of Mason last night as he has not been privy to the reason we are here._ _Please, as distasteful as it may be, stay as close to Brianna today as possible, listen to her thoughts as much as you can and we will talk when I awake. _  
_Love, -E_  
Two days of relaxation, I guess that was better than nothing. I decided I would shower later since we would have to attend the summit tonight. I put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt pulled my hair up in a high ponytail slid on some sandals grabbed my book and headed downstairs. I walked quietly as I didn't want anyone to hear me coming in case I was able to over hear something important. I didn't hear anyone as I rounded the bottom of the stairs with my ears or my gift. I quietly walked down the hall where the library was and no one was in that part of the house. I walked quietly towards the kitchen and as I walked through the preparation room from the formal dining room I heard Elijah. He was very upset his mind was buzzing… _That bitch who does she think she is! I have had enough of her I have enough money saved and I have my military retirement I should just quit but then what would I do with myself all day. I really want to tell her to shove this job up her anal retentive tight ass. _I eased myself into the kitchen just in time for Elijah to throw a metal bowl into the sink. He spun around and was a little surprised to see me standing there. "Mornin' Sugar. What can I get for you this morning?"  
"Everything OK, Elijah?"  
"Nothing I can't handle, that wicked witch is just giving me a hard time I swear she wants us all to leave so she can have this house to herself."  
"You don't need to cook for me you have enough troubles. I can just grab some cereal." "No guest in my presence is going to eat cold cereal. You just tell old Elijah what you would like Sugar."  
"Well, I would really love a BLT if it's not too much trouble."  
"Sugar, that ain't no problem at all." He got out the stuff and I sliced the tomato. When he was all ready he sliced an avocado and place on the sandwich, it was perfect. He put some baked chips out and I grabbed a diet soda I was starving since we had eaten so early yesterday that I actually ate a second sandwich. "I like a girl with a healthy appetite, there are too many toothpick girls walking around, women should have curves." I blushed. I wanted to help him clean up but he wouldn't have it.  
"Where is Brianna this morning, uh, I might want to be sure to avoid her?" Ok that was a lie, I wanted to know where she was so I could listen in on her. After yesterday I am sure I am the last person she wants to see.  
"Sugar she is probably in her little office of the sun room. She seems to always be in there on the computer or on the phone."  
"Thanks for the meal, Elijah, I am gonna go settle down and relax and read a while." I was trying to figure out how to sit out in the vampire sunroom outside her office without her seeing me. I approached slowly and luckily she was facing a different direction then the door. I slipped passed and propped myself up on the couch trying to look like I was just casually reading my book. _Why the hell hasn't Brittany called today everyone came back alive last night so nothing must have happened at the summit whatever is going to happen needs to happen I am tired of the shit around here I am ready for the next step. That busy body Maria got what she deserved – I just wish Brittany would have told me what she was going to do so I could cover it better around here._ Ok, well Brianna and Brittany were up to something and what was she talking about happened to Maria. Her cell phone rang and I almost dropped my book. _It's about time you called what have you been doing? I saw Mason's outline, they vote on the elections tonight. Tonight would be perfect anyone of importance will be there. _Oh crap, it's too early in the day for this. I am going to have to sit on this the rest of the day. _The bonus is those three little vampire whores will be there along with all the other low life sinner cows that feed the vampires. I need to go, call me back later after you have spoken to the committee and get something set up. I better get off here and see if any of those whores are up lurking around. _Oh shit, she's coming out… I moved with speed faster and quieter then a normal human thanks to the vampire blood I had been taking from Eric. I ran out into the real sunroom and sat looking like I was engrossed in my book. Just a moment later Brianna walked out took in a deep sigh, "Miss Stackhouse my I be of any assistance today?"  
"No thank you Brianna I am just going to spend my time around here today and rest up for tonight's activities."  
"I'm sure."  
"Excuse me."  
"Um, nothing, if there is nothing you need from me I will get back to work." _Whore, skanky vampire whore if I had it my way I would stake that big blonde vampire right now and slice your throat. But the Fellowship will not allow it._  
"Look Brianna, I really don't care what you think about me I have encountered people all my life that think they are better than anyone that doesn't conform to their ways. But I promise you are barking up the wrong tree if you choose to mess with me. So you go on about whatever it is you need to do today and I will do the same." She spun on her heels and out the door she went. Great another Fellowship that hates vampires, they are going to attempt something bad tonight I know it. I am really going to have to put my skills to work to keep up with her from a distance today. I was still sitting in the sunroom when Natasha walked out. She hadn't bothered to shower or even brush her hair. I guess she had had a late night too.  
"So what's on the agenda today, Sookie?"  
"I just planned to hang out around the house and relax and read today. I want to rest up for tonight. It takes a toll on me after a few days when I try to keep human and vampire hours."  
"I understand that. I think just chillin' today is a pretty good idea. Have you eaten?" "Yeah, and when I went in the kitchen Elijah was pretty ticked off at Brianna, she had said something that pissed him off big time this morning.."  
"Great, she is on another rampage then. I think I will just try and avoid her as much as possible today."  
"Hey, I was just curious, does Florida have a big anti-vampire activist group? I have to say I have had a bad experience with them in every city we have been to. I was at Rhodes when that happened, did you hear about it? I was just hoping we weren't going to run into that here." OK that was as inconspicuous as I could make it.  
"Yeah there are several small groups but the big one is Guardians of the Sun Fellowship. I heard about Rhodes, I can't believe you were there. That had to have been horrible." "Hey, where is Justine?" I was beginning to worry, I don't think I had ever seen the two of them not together.  
"She is still asleep, after the King was done with her she went to be with Ethan. I know that sounds horrible, but she really has a thing for Ethan but to be here and reap the benefits she has pay her dues to the Valk." Ok… Ewww was all I could think. Natasha excused herself to go get something to eat. I opened up my mind and reached out searching for Brianna in the house. I am sure she was in the house but I wasn't reading any thoughts. I spent most of the day in the sunroom stretching my mind out through the house and finally late in the day she was back in her little office with the door closed. _Ok I will call you when they leave so that you know they are on the way. Once Valk arrives all the other vamps will move into place for the night's events. That will give plenty of time to get everything set up. I agree the closer to dawn that this can happen the better. That way what the fires don't get the sunlight will. _I actually had a chance at stopping this. I knew when it was going to happen, where and by whom, well mostly by whom. I couldn't wait for Eric to get up. I ran upstairs and sat on the bed staring at him until he first started to wake up. I started shaking him and telling him to wake up. "Wake up Eric, wake up now, its important, come on focus, can you hear me."  
"Lover, give me just a minute," he sat up stretching his naked body. _Focus Sookie you are about to save a lot of lives you can have Eric later._ After a couple of minutes, "what is so important, what do you need to tell me?" I was fairly sure he was coherent enough to listen and I told him everything. He pounced out of bed and slid on some jeans and a t-shirt and ran down to Drake's office with me in tow. Drake had obviously just woke himself and was checking his messages. Eric shut the door and he told Drake pretty much word for word what I had told him. Drake summoned Ethan and the guys filled him in on what was going on. Then the wheels were set in motion. The made phone call after phone call and their plan for thwarting this attempt to erase the vampires was set into place. Drake dismissed us to go and get ready and his final step for his plans was carried out. He called Brianna to his office and told her that in appreciation of her good work and her dedication over the last several months he would like her to accompany him to the events tonight as his special guest. She was hesitant but she couldn't very well say no, besides she was planning on being there anyway to see the evil destroyed so why not arrive in style in the limo she told herself.

I decided that since I wasn't sure how much I would be involved I should dress for anything so I opted for the navy pant suit I had bought along with practical shoes with just a little bit of a wedge heel. I pulled my hair up and into a twist so that my hair wouldn't be in the way and I wouldn't have a ponytail for anyone to use as leverage. I was preparing for battle. My life was nothing like I expected it to be just a few short years ago. Natasha and Justine were not filled in on what was going on and I thought it was probably for the best. Once it started if I needed to I could help get them to safety. We all climbed into our limos as normal and Brianna rode with the King and Natasha.

The thought was that if the King had Brianna with him then when she made and excuse to excuse herself then we would all know that the bad was coming. Everyone went through the motions and I kept my mind open to Brianna and kept her in close proximity. She and her sister were actually sending several text messages keeping each other up to date. Normally in any vampire event any human that would dare send a text message would be in serious trouble but this was a definite exception. We were in the middle of one of the seminars and she excused herself and I heard her think to herself that it was time. All the bombs had been set into place outside the building and that the doors were all guarded with Fellowship members armed with silver. I told Eric what I heard and excused myself to follow her and I grabbed Natasha and Justine to follow me. I quickly explained to them what was happening while I was searching for Brianna with my mind. I heard her and she was with her sister. I needed to confront them. I needed to know why Brittany was in Shreveport. "Sookie, I wish you would have told us about this sooner," Natasha was definitely concerned, "we could have come better prepared?"  
"Prepared?" I was a little confused.  
"Sookie, we are witches. We could have done something to help."  
"Are you serious, does Drake know?"  
"No, we are pretty secret about it. We don't practice in the mansion we go back to our old apartment for that."  
"That explains why I didn't feel the magic"  
"Feel the magic, what are you?"  
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, I'm a telepath."  
"Cool" Justine piped in.  
"Are you full witches or still in apprenticeship? One of my best friends is a pretty strong witch"  
"We are strong and when we combine our powers we are very strong."  
I explained to them that I wanted to go and confront the sisters and that I wanted to find out why Brittany was in Shreveport and they were more than willing to help. We bound into the ladies room and found the sisters in what appeared to be an argument. I didn't even care why. I rushed over to Brittany and grabbed her by the arm and she tried to struggle but with Eric's blood in me she didn't have a chance to wiggle loose. "You're the slut of that big blonde vampire. I can't say that he isn't enough to make even me have second thoughts about a roll in the hay but then I remember what an abomination he is."  
"Actually I am the fiancé of that big blonde vampire and I want to know why you were on the plane from Shreveport to Florida and what were you doing in Louisiana?"  
She actually laughed in my face, "Fiancé, how pathetic, but I guess after you have disgraced yourself with the undead no human man would want to touch you." I slapped her, "what were you doing in Louisiana!"  
I had actually busted her lip, "not that is matters now, but I was there to visit with your local Fellowship to find out about your boyfriend. All Brianna could get was he was an important guest and where he was coming from. So I came to get the scoop on him to see and check him out before he got here so we could determine what the intentions were." "Why the murders?"  
"For exactly this reason, we knew that if we could create enough of a commotion in the ranks then there would be an official meeting and the masses would assemble and we could take them all out at once. It's just a bonus that trash like you gets taken out too." It was then that we heard the screams start and we knew the battle or what there would be of it was starting. There was terror in the twins' eyes and they tried to run but the witches said a quick spell and bound them together holding them in place. I asked them to stay with them and I wondered out into the hall to get an idea of what was going on. There was obviously no chance of the bombs going off since the vampires drained those that were to set off the charges before anyone else. By the time it was all said and done there were many dead Fellowship members, a few vampires that got burned by silver but no vampire casualties. The Fellowship really hadn't planned for any deviations in their plans. We delivered the twins to Drake. It would be his choice on what happened to them. I knew the likelihood of them being turned over to the human police was slim to none after all if that happened the vampires would have to admit to the murders they committed even though in all reality it was self defense. Valk instructed Mason to take them back to the mansion the twins were terrified and they had every right to be. The vampires reassembled briefly to assign tasks for the cover up but me and the girls didn't stay for that we headed back to the mansion. Eric kissed me good bye and told me he was staying to help and he would see me before dawn.

I told Natasha and Justine about Amelia and a little more about myself and they talked about their practices and their coven. Then the question from Natasha, as though this had been rolling around in her mind, "you and Eric are engaged? That's the story behind the ring?"  
I nodded with a big smile on my face, "Could we keep this between us for now? We haven't officially announced our engagement. Eric still has to speak to his King and well, we have special plans for the announcement."  
They both smiled and promised my secret was safe.

The first limo was still parked in the driveway and I had an uneasy feeling about what was happening or what was going to happen to the twins. The house was quiet and I didn't feel any other brain activity in the house. The twins must either be unconscious, dead or somewhere else. But I tried not to think about it. The further I got into the vampire world the less I seemed to mind the measures they took against those that wronged them. In this case it really was self defense against many, against Eric, against me. I learned a long time ago that the police weren't always so eager to help the vampires or to punish those that wrong them. I understood why they often took matters in their own hands. The United States has come a long way in the acceptance of vampires since they came out of the coffin. The government was quick to accept them so that they could find ways to tax them.

The girls and I went into the kitchen to find a late night snack while we waited to see if the guys would be home soon. Eric and Drake came back as we were cleaning up. I have to admit I was beginning to worry a little since dawn was so close. I knew Eric could always go to ground if he found himself out too late, but I didn't want to think about sleeping without him. "Everything OK?" I gave him a nervous smile. "Lover, no problems, everything is fine," he took me into his arms and for me everything was fine. "We are cutting the summit short. We will have the final night, the election results and the ball here tomorrow night, the convention center is unusable," Drake announced. "Duncan will be here soon ladies and he will arrange and oversee the set up for the events. Please make yourself available to help him in anyway possible."  
"Then we better get a few hours sleep so we can be of some use," I chimed in and looked up at Eric.  
"The sun is very near, see you all tomorrow night." Drake motioned his hand dismissing us all as he walked out of the room.

Eric and I went to our room and I went to the bathroom to took down my hair and took care of necessities. I came out to find Eric had slipped in between the covers and beginning to drift off to sleep already. I slid on a night shirt and climbed in next to him. "We will stay for the party tomorrow night and then we will go home the following night when I awake. Could you take care of making the flight arrangements, Lover.  
"Yes, gladly. I am ready to go home." I snuggled into him and we both drifted off to sleep. I slept much later then I intended. It was 2 p.m. when I woke up. I gave my vampire a soft kiss on the mouth and climbed out of bed. I went to the bathroom brushed my teeth washed my face and pulled my hair up put on some shorts, t-shirt and my sneakers and went downstairs.


	13. Chapter 28

Chapter 28  
The mansion was bustling with people. Cleaning, decorating, cases of True Blood being brought in, I walked into the kitchen and Elijah was busy, he was happy to have so much to do. He was preparing more food then I thought the humans could ever consume but he was happy. Maria walked in and I couldn't help but run up and hug her. "What happened to you? I was so worry that you might be…"  
"Dead" she interrupted.  
"Yes, and I noticed that she was bruised up and had a few healing cuts."  
"I was afraid I was going to be dead. My family too! Brianna sent me on a errand, it was a set up. Some of the Fellowship people grabbed me and took me to my house, they already had my family, they tied us to chairs and they knocked me around a little trying to get information from me. I kept telling them I didn't know anything which was the complete truth. Just before dawn this morning Ethan came and cut us loose and disposed of the one Fellowship member that was there."  
"I am so glad you are OK!" I hugged her again. "What can I do to help?" I did odd and end jobs and finally I walked outside. It was going to be beautiful. There was a sturdy plastic type cover over the pool that allowed you to walk over the water and a band stand was set up. The pool and all the area around it was set up to be a huge dance floor lit up from underneath. I walked down to the beach and there was stage set up and at least 100 chairs under a huge tent with tons of lighting. I guess this is where the business was going to occur.

It was time to get ready so I went upstairs and took a shower, shaved, put on my makeup and fixed my hair. I put lots of spiral curls in my hair then I pulled part of it up to so it cascaded down my back. I had decided I would wear the gold dress and thought my golden hair would look nice trailing down the V in the back of the dress. I wasn't quite ready to put my dress on although I did go ahead and put my shoes on and put my robe over my underthings. There was a knock on my door. Justine asked if I could help her fix her hair. I went to her room. She had her room decorated like a dorm room. Her room had it's own private bath too. I never did anyone's hair but my own. I felt Eric wake up. I wanted to be there with him when he woke up but I told Justine I would help her. I finished her hair, I did it really similar to Natasha's the other day. We left her hair down and put spiral curls running through it. I left to go get dressed and Eric had already showered and left the room. I was a little disappointed. I got dressed and headed downstairs, the train on the dress trailing behind me I felt so elegant. I walked down the stairs and Eric met me at the bottom he had a sexy smile on his face. "You look like a scene out of a movie coming down the stairs. Where were you when I woke up? I knew you were near."  
"I felt you wake up. I was helping Justine get ready. You look very handsome." He always looked so good in a tux, then he looked good in anything or nothing. He extended his hand to me and we walked through the house. Several vampires and humans were gathered through the house. And several heads inclined to Eric as we walked through. He inclined his head back and I just smiled. The ceremony was called to order and everyone took down to the beach. The night was beautiful and the weather was perfect. The announcements were made on the election results and then the King stepped forward "we have two additional matters to deal with before we commence with festivities. First all of you are to recognize Eric Northman from Louisiana as an honorary member of our clan. In addition we will accept his human companion Sookie Stackhouse as a protected human. You all owe her a great bit of thanks, she is the one that discovered the plot against us." Everyone stood and clapped and just as suddenly there was silence. "Our next order of business," then I saw Ethan for the first time since last night and he brought the twins out onto the stage, "these two women planned the events of last night. We need to decide what to do with these two traitors. Do we drain them, do we turn them, do we set them free to spread the word to the terrorists that are left. We all had equal parts in the events last night, we will vote for the fate of these two."  
I couldn't believe this. The vampires were casting ballots to determine what to do with the twins. Each took there turn to drop their vote in the box. The twins were made to actually separate and count the votes while Ethan loomed over them. That job in itself was pure torture. The votes in one stack were definitely stacked higher then the others. Their fate was decided, Ethan handed the results to the King. "They will be drained." You could hear the growls emanating from the crowd. "We will prepare them for your pleasure in the basement. You may all take a turn at your leisure." The King waved his hand and Ethan and two other vampires removed the sisters. They were struggling to no avail.

Eric led me to the dance floor and we danced and socialized and danced more. If you blocked out the events that were happening in the basement of this mansion the night was as perfect as a girl could want. The night was winding down Eric and Drake excused them selves to conclude their personal business and I told Eric I would see him in our room. I packed my bags only leaving out what I might need tomorrow. I pulled my hair up and decided I would draw a nice hot bubble bath and turned on the jets and lit a bunch of candles around the edge of the tub and turned off all the other lights relaxed and waited for Eric, hoping he wouldn't be too long.  
I heard the bedroom door open Eric was standing in the door way to the bathroom. He must have sensed my mood because by the time he made it to the bathroom he was pulling off his boxers. "Sorry I left you for so long. Drake and I had a few things to discuss as well as I had to convince him that I was not kidding when I told him I would not go the basement and help him finish draining the sisters. It was quite an honor that he asked since the final blood left in their bodies is saved for the King alone."  
"I'm sorry you missed out on it," I wasn't really, but it was either that or get angry. "I'm not. Not only have I promised you I would feed on no other human, but I have no desire for any other human. Sookie, in all of our fighting last night I found it odd that I had no desire to feed on any of the people we were slaying. I seem to only crave you. Honestly, I don't know if it is the increased blood bond or my deep love for you. This is whole new territory for me."  
"I understand, I truly do, taking blood from you or even from Bill had always been in some capacity life saving. Now, I find myself craving your blood. What is that about?" He sank into the tub behind me kissing my neck and shoulder and I turned my head for our lips to meet. His hands went to my breasts and began pinching and pulling my nipples and I moaned into his mouth and I grinded back into him. He wrapped one hand around by ribs just under my breasts and moved the other between my legs sliding his fingers in and rubbing my nub with his thumb. I threw my head back into his chest and began moving my lower body in rhythm with his fingers. "Eric, please, I want to feel you inside me, now." He lifted me and I slid down onto his huge shaft. We began a frantic rhythm splashing water everywhere. "Bite me now," I wasn't asking, I was demanding."  
"Where?" he growled in my ear.  
"My shoulder, now!" He kissed my neck and I felt his fangs scrape my neck and I tilted my head all the way over. He bit. I raised his arm from around me and put his finger in my mouth and began sucking and scraping my teeth over his finger. He drew harder on the wound without stopping any of the momentum we had happening under the water. Then without thinking I raised his wrist to my mouth and bit and sucked. He released my shoulder and roared and then he came. I think this was the first time ever that he climaxed before me. I kept sucking on his wrist, I didn't want to stop, he whispered in my ear, "Lover, that's enough." I pulled away. "Eric, I am so sorry. Did I take too much?" I moved away from him still holding his hand watching the wound heal before my eyes, I moved to the other end of the tub and looked into his face.  
"No, but you took more than you ever have from me, even when I healed you when you were staked. You are healthy so I am not sure what effects this will have on you." He pulled me back to him. I don't want you to withdraw from me if the results from this scares you."  
"This was my choice. You didn't force me, you didn't trick me, it wasn't to save my life. I will never draw away from you again. I love you and you aren't getting rid of me." He drew me in and kissed me passionately. "Um, Eric, you have some unfinished business to attend to." I smiled at him and raised one of my eyebrows.  
"So I do," he smiled back, scooped me up out of the water and carried me to the bed. We were dripping wet but neither of us seemed to care. Eric moved his skilled mouth between my legs sliding two of his fingers inside of me and turning his hand palm up and curling his fingers deep inside me. I began arching my back feeling the climax that was coming. Then Eric bit my thigh, one of his favorite places. I came and I continued to come as he continued to move his fingers and suck. He withdrew and I sat up pulling him to me and flipping him onto the bed so that I could mount him. He looked up at me with wide eyes. I realized I had done this with speed and force that shocked him. Right at that moment I didn't care as I mounted him and then bent my mouth to his and he responded as feverishly to my actions. I sat up on him placing my feet flat on the bed next to his hips and began raising myself up and down as if posting in a saddle when riding a horse and my force down on him grew until I felt like his huge shaft was halfway up my body. His hands were on my hips but he was simply along for this ride he was having to give no effort. I moved my hands to his, locking them together and leaning his elbows against the bed giving me a little more leverage. I increased my speed and threw my head back and I was coming again and I was screaming in a language that I had never used before, in Eric's language but I found him coming to and he was echoing the exact same words. I collapsed next to him breathing no where as heavily as what I thought I should have been. My legs are strong but I don't think any human could have given an equivalent of 30 minutes of deep knee bends especially as fast as I had started moving.  
"Lover, the next few days may be very interesting. You just spoke a language that has been dead for near 700 years."


	14. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

I was awake the next morning by 9am. I thought I would end my last day the same way I started. A nice relaxing day on the beach I hoped that Natasha and Justine would be able to join me. I felt fantastic. I looked in the mirror and I could see the glow I see when I see vampires. My hair was shinier and as I looked real closely into the mirror I could swear I saw some of the small lines on my face that you naturally get as you begin to approach 30 had disappeared. My laugh lines were almost completely gone and the little lines around my eyes were gone. I had to look really hard to see the bite marks on my shoulder the one's on my thigh were a little more noticeable. I put on my swim suite under my shorts and t-shirt and slid on my sandals and headed down stairs. I didn't find anyone in the house so I went to the kitchen to make some coffee. I found a note on the coffee maker  
_Sookie, the staff has the day off make yourself at home if you get up before us. We will see you when we wake up. _  
_Nat & Justine_  
I decided on a bowl of cereal, toast and coffee. That was fine with me. I ran back upstairs and got my book and headed out to the beach. I left a note on the coffee maker myself. _Out at the beach, hope you can join me. – Sookie_  
There were workers all around cleaning up from the festivities from last night. I grabbed a beach towel and a water out of the cabana and settled into one of the lounge chairs took off my clothes and put on some sun tan lotion and started my book. I had been sitting there in my own world and someone walked up behind me and I jumped up. The guy approaching was definitely thinking of me but he was still 50 feet away. It was a young guy, one of the workers breaking down the set up, odd the way I felt his mind I thought he was up on me. He smiled as he approached and as to not look odd for standing I adjusted my lounge chair. "I am on a break and you looked lonely out here," he flashed his smile again. "My name is Todd."  
"Well, Todd, I am not lonely, I am trying to relax and enjoy my day sunning on the beach. I am sure you are not being paid to socialize, not even on your break." I sat back down on my chair and he was actually arrogant enough to sit on the end of my lounge. "The boss doesn't mind. Like I said I am on a break," _This chick is hot, this is just what I need is to hook up with a little rich chick, even if she is a bitch, the money would be worth it. She's just playing hard to get. _Then he put his hand on my knee and I put my hand on top of his and I plowed into his brain, Todd Johnson, Elm Street, Daytona Beach, FL. "Todd," with my hand on his knee he was feeling very confident, I slid his hand up my thigh just a little bit at a time and opened my legs ever so slightly, his mind was buzzing and his pants were beginning to bulge, "let me show you something," I said in a sexy little voice.  
"Sure, anything." I don't think his smile could get any bigger.  
"Take a look right here," I had moved his hand only two inches up my thigh and had a good hold on it with my other hand I moved my left hand in sight, "you see this ring, it's probably worth more then everything you own plus your annual salary, it's my engagement ring. He was staring at it and feeling a little pain from me squeezing his hand. With his eyes fixed on my ring I pointed to my thigh, "Can you imagine what my fiancé would do to you if I told him about your intentions and unwelcomed solicitation? We could easily come pay you a visit any night just after dark on Elm Street here in Daytona Beach." Fear filled his eyes, I squeezed just a little harder, increased strength I knew was a side affect of Eric's blood, "Todd, when a girl brushes you off take it as a hint. If you want to move up a class you have to start with getting some class" I released his hand.  
"I am so sorry. I promise I won't bother you again, please don't tell your boyfriend. I have never met a vampire and I really don't want to start with meeting one mad at me for offending his lover." He was rubbing his hand with his other one and he scurried off. I was actually laughing to myself when Natasha walked up. "Sookie, what did you do to that poor boy? He looked like he was about to throw up." "Oh, you know, unwelcomed advances, I decided to teach him some manners and give him a little scare both with a little glance in his mind and a threat with a vampire boyfriend"  
"Oh you are so bad, sorry I missed that one. Natasha is on her way out, we were talking, we are so bummed that you are leaving today, we would like to treat you to an early dinner before the guys wake up. You don't even have to get dressed up just put your clothes back on over your suite we want to take you to a favorite place of ours on the beach just about 15 minutes from here. But we would like to treat you to some other fun too so we would like to leave soon if that's ok with you. It was fine with me so we headed into the house. We gathered our purses and headed out to the garage. The three of us climbed into a pretty black 300Z with IMORTL on the license plate and the T-tops were off. We took our short drive and parked near a pubic beach. The girls grabbed my hands and we took off. We went into a surf shop, "Hey Seth," Justine said as we walked in, "this is our friend Sookie and she is going back to Louisiana today but we wanted to teach her to catch some waves before she left, you mind if we borrow some boards?" "Nice to meet you Sookie, with that glowing tan and that blonde hair I would have pegged you for a surfer girl anyway. Anything for you Justine, help yourself you know where everything is."  
"I don't know the first thing about surfing, but I am willing to give it a shot." We got boards and walked down to the beach and they gave me some basic instructions before we got in the water and then we began to paddle out. I was really excited and I fought the waves coming towards us with ease and paddled through them. I found that I had reflexes like a cat, I was having a blast surfing, I was beginning to enjoy the side effects of the vampire blood. We surfed for a couple of hours before we took the boards back. We showered the salt water off of us at the public shower on the beach toweled off got dressed and I was famished. We went to this quaint little burger shop and I had a huge burger, medium well with onion rings and a chocolate shake. I must have eaten like a horse because a couple of times I caught the girls staring at me a little strange. Instead of looking into their minds, after all I made every attempt not to look into the minds of my friends, I was finding it extremely easy to keep up my shields. "What, why do you keep staring at me?" I asked finally not wanting to probe.  
"You seem so different today, Sookie. It's like you are you or at least the you we have gotten to know over the last few days but only improved. You look different, Seth was right you have kind of a glow about you. Has something happened?" Natasha had a very serious look on her face.  
"I'm the same me. I think I am just relieved that we are finished with the summit and done with the Fellowship and I am going home and I am going to start planning my engagement party. Eric and I get to get on with our lives, I think y'all are just picking up on all of my excitement and joy." I gave them a convincing smile but I knew that wasn't what they were picking up on.  
"Party, are we invited?" Justine was so excited.  
"Sure, I will be sure you receive your invitation in plenty of time." I smiled a little more self assured.  
"Sookie, I have a great idea," I didn't realize Justine had ideas of her own, "when you decide when the party will be, call us, we can come to Louisiana and help you plan and decorate."  
"Great idea! Sookie we would love to come and visit. Since the King and Eric seem to be such good friends I am sure he wouldn't object to us being gone for a few days. Everyone deserves a vacation every once in a while." Natasha was just as excited as Justine. "That sounds great! If you guys don't mind staying about an hour away from Shreveport I could put you up in my family home in Bon Temps, Amelia is living there now but there are two more bedrooms. It's nothing fancy but y'all are more than welcome." I was so happy to have met Natasha and Justine, I really felt like we were true friends.

We went back to the mansion and I was enjoying the feeling of the sun on my face and the wind in my hair while Natasha zipped down the costal highway in the fancy sports car. By the time we got back it was getting close to dark and I could feel Eric starting to wake up and I hadn't even gone upstairs yet. We walked up the stairs and the girls and I said our goodbye's and passed hugs around and I went into our room. I had packed our luggage and left Eric out clothes for our trip home. I wasn't going to have time to shower before we left so I decided to just wash up and put my hair up and change clothes. I walked out of the bathroom and Eric was awake sitting on the side of the bed. I walked up to him and gave him a kiss. He inhaled me, "I can smell the sun and the ocean on you. Did you have a good day?" He licked my neck, "I can taste the ocean on you as well."  
"I did have a good day, I went surfing."  
I knew he wanted to know about any side effects I might be having, "Eric, do you notice anything different about me? Anything at all? Really look at me." He leaned back and gazed at me.  
"Your hair is different. Is that an effect?"  
"You really don't know what I should expect?"  
"No"  
"Yes, my hair is shinier, the laugh lines around my face and eyes have near disappeared, of course I have the increased strength and speed, I feel great, I feel younger, healthier. I can also control my gift better, I can put my shields up and keep them up with almost no effort. But that's not all, I can also pick up on thoughts much easier. Eric, is it possible that your blood in the amounts that I have had can reverse or slow my aging?" "With my age my blood in quantity could have many effects. Sookie, you realize that if this is the case and you continue to drink from me and your aging slows this will just prolong our time together in this lifetime." Eric had a bit of a concern on his face as he raised his hand to my face and caressed it softly.  
"A similar thought ran through my mind this morning. But we will talk about this more later. Now you have to get dressed so we won't miss our flight home." I gave him another kiss and pointed to the clothes I put out for him.  
"You picked my clothes out," he said with a smile.  
"Well, I picked out your clothes from the clothes you already had. It's not like it was a big choice, your jeans, a t-shirt and your boots. I already packed your bags." "Thank you, Lover." He stood and got dressed, brushed his teeth and hair and he grabbed all the bags and we headed down stairs. Drake met us at the bottom of the stairs and he and Eric said a few words to each other in the language I still didn't understand even though I spoke it last night. They hugged, heavy pats on the back, Drake thanked me again and hugged me, "Sookie, if you ever tire of this buffoon, move to Florida and I will take care of you." He smiled and he and Eric shook hands and the limo was out front waiting on us.

We arrived at the airport and as we walked through the terminal you would have thought we were running through the terminal naked with our hair on fire with all the stares we got. We boarded our plane and had an uneventful flight home. "When do you think you will be able to meet with Filipe de Castro? I am anxious to start planning our engagement party."  
"I will request a meeting with him at his earliest convenience. I will contact him as soon as we are back in Louisiana. Lover, do you have a wedding date in mind?"  
"I know the nights are shorter during the summer but I was hoping to have it while the weather was warm so we could have an outside ceremony. If you aren't up to this summer then we could plan it for next if you want to wait." I was hoping he wouldn't have changed his mind about whenever I wanted he was ready.  
"Lover, I told you that you pick the day and I will be there. I can't wait to make you my wife to make you Mrs. Eric Northman – Sookie Northman. Do you like the way it sounds?" He was rubbing my hand.  
"Oh yes, nothing could sound more perfect."  
I was so glad to be back in Louisiana when we landed. I loved the sun and the ocean but home is home.


	15. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

After Eric loaded the luggage into the Escalade he asked if I minded if we stopped by Fangtasia on the way home to check on things. Of course I didn't. This was his business and he had been away a lot lately. We arrived and we parked in the back. The front parking lot was packed. It seems that business was thriving, Pam was doing a good job. We went in the back door and walked into Eric's office which was empty. Pam was out in the bar taking care of business. Eric flipped open his cell phone, "Victor, I need to meet with the King on personal business. Could you set this up as soon as possible." He said he was going to call as soon as we got back, I didn't know he meant this soon. "Lover, Victor will call me back as soon as he checks the Kings schedule." The phone rang. "He will be, that will be fine. I look forward to seeing him then. Thank you for your expedience." He looked at me, "de Castro will be in Shreveport tomorrow night and he has time for us."  
"Us, I am going with you?" I was a little nervous.  
"Yes, I think it is best. After all it will show your respect at having the status of protected." Pam walked in.  
"Master, welcome back." She smiled. "You too Sookie."  
"Pam, we have a meeting with de Castro tomorrow night I will need you to handle the bar again at least to open. Have things been well?"  
"Things have run smoothly. Would I be out of line to ask what the meeting with the King is about?" She was completely expressionless.  
"Pam, be seated." She obeyed and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Eric held his hand out to me and I got up from the couch and went behind the desk to stand next to him, "Pam, Sookie and I are going before the King to ask his blessing for us to be married. We will ask you to keep this information to yourself. We have decided not to share this information until we make an official announcement." Is that understood, Pam. "Yes, I understand. Master, Sookie, I give you my best wishes. Sookie, anything I can do to help please let me know." Eric gave her a pleased smile.  
"Pam, thank you, I really appreciate it." I gave her a pleased smile of my own. "Sookie, Florida agreed with you. You are simply radiant. You smell of the ocean and the sun and sand. I take it that your business went as planned?" the last statement addressed to Eric.  
"Sookie was able to get more information then we could have ever hoped and no vampires lost their lives." Eric stood, "Come Lover, let's spend some time on the floor before the bar closes for the night." He took my hand and led me out to his booth, our booth. Pam followed us back out to the bar and went back to work. We were no more seated and one of the waitresses were checking on us. Eric ordered a True Blood and I ordered a Diet Cola. Eric spoke to several vampires that came up to visit with him while consuming a six pack of True Blood and I just focused on my thoughts of the engagement party.

Eric and I stayed until the bar closed and then we headed home. I was still adjusting to the idea that I was living in Shreveport that Eric and I shared a home. We went in and Eric carried our luggage upstairs and then came back down. I had settled on the big soft leather sofa in front of the TV. "Shall we watch a movie," Eric asked?  
"Sure, whatever you like, I'm not picky." This is what normal feels like I thought to myself. He laid down on the couch, he just barely fit, and I laid down in front of him. He flipped through the channels and settled on the movie _NEXT_. Neither of us had seen it yet. We lay there on the couch, me wrapped in his arms, enjoying being with each other and being together. After the movie he flipped the channels and we watched and laughed at an episode of _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_. This reminded me of the time Eric spent with me when he was cursed. We watched the series from beginning to end and laughed. Eric especially found the facial changes that happened to the vampires humorous. We went up and then down to bed just before dawn. We didn't make love and we didn't drink from each other this first night home. We enjoyed our time just being together and lying next to each other. We could feel each other's contentment through our bond.


End file.
